Universal Affairs
by beautifully-rational
Summary: BSG AU. Pre-TATM. Two very different types of survivors cross paths. One of those survivors can show the others the way... but it's the question of if the Cylons are going to play. Trigger warning - Doctor!Whump. HIATUS.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: In which Battlestar Galactica canon is completely disregarded - the piece begins after the scene where Zarek tells Meier to disregard their plans for assassinating Apollo due to the arrival of members of the Galactica crew. Whoniverse wise, this is set before 'The Angels Take Manhattan', as I couldn't see any other companions (or Doctors) slotting into the roles of this story.**_

_**I have three chapters written at this moment in time, not counting the prologue. Depending on the feedback I'll continue posting, but I'm continuing to write the piece regardless.**_

_**If you choose to read, I hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Amelia Pond was bought out of a peaceful sleep by the sound of the bedroom door hitting the wall. Next to her, Rory said bolt upright and drew an imaginary sword and searched for the intruder.

"Ponds!" An all-too-familiar voice squealed. "You'll never guess what I just found!"

Rory lowered his sword and fell back into the pillows, whereas Amy just groaned. She rolled over to glance at the digital clock on her beside. "Ugh, it's four in the morning." she told the alien in the doorway. "Can't this wait?"

The intruder bounded into the room. "I came all the way from the other end of the universe to show you this!" he continued. "Look, look! Come on, get up!" he was almost jumping up and down with excitement at the foot of the bed.

Rory had his arm poised over his eyes and seemed to be trying his very best to ignore what was happening in the bedroom. Amy, on the other hand, had managed to roll out of bed and grab the nearest set of clothes.

"That's the spirit!" he continued. "Come on, Rory!"

The Roman mumbled something that Amy didn't quite catch, but then slowly got out of bed. The intruder took that opportunity to waltz back into the hallway where he had happened to park the TARDIS. Amy followed him idly, rubbing her eyes as she did so.

"Is there a reason you're here now, instead of in the morning?" Amy asked him as he fumbled for the TARDIS key in his tweed jacket pocket.

"I was just testing it out time wise." he answered. "Obviously it worked, so now I'm going to try it out on the big scale!" he found his key and pushed it into the lock.

Rory trudged into the hallway half-dressed. "Maybe you could do the human thing next time and _knock_." he suggested quietly. "River happened somehow, you know."

The intruder didn't answer; he pushed open the TARDIS door and slipped inside. Amy followed with Rory not far behind.

"How long did I leave it this time?" The intruder asked. He leant against the console, arms crossed over his chest and chin raised, obviously waiting for an answer.

Rory and Amy exchanged glances. "The cube invasion." they answered together. "So three or four months, give or take." Amy added.

The intruder nodded. "Now I'm sure you're both wondering what I've come all this way to show you." he began. He spun around, searched the panel now in front of him for a moment and then pointed to a bright yellow lever. "This is a randomizer." he explained. "It sets the destination and/or the time to random so there's no telling where we'll end up when we dematerialize." he said.

Rory blinked. "You came into our bedroom, guns blazing in the _middle_ of the night to show us a new _singular_ lever on the console?" he queried, his voice ringing with irritation. "This better we worth it." he grumbled.

"I found it while I was searching through my old wardrobe." The intruder began to explain, ignoring Rory. "I thought Sexy threw it out when she remodelled the console ages ago, but obviously she didn't." he patted the console lovingly. "I installed it a couple of hours ago, and then Sexy demanded we try it out whilst coming to show you." he spun around to face the Ponds again. "So here we are!" he grinned at them.

Amy let out a long breath, glanced at her husband – who squeezed his eyes shut – , and then opened her mouth. "One trip." she decided, holding up a finger. "One trip, and then we're coming back here to go to bed."

* * *

It had been almost a day since part of the Galactica crew and Billy had joined President Roslin and her party on Kobol. At the moment the were all on the move, cutting their way through the thicket of the Kobol forests.

Apollo and his still-weak father led the charge with President Roslin and Billy not far behind. She held the scriptures in her hand and appeared to be guiding them. Behind those three, Starbuck, Sharon, Tom Zarek and Helo trudged along. And then behind even further, the rest of the party followed.

It was when they reached a dip in the trail did the two Adamas halt. Apollo held up a hand for the rest of the party to do the same.

"Do you hear that?" he asked them.

There was silence for a brief moment. "It sounds like ship engines." Starbuck said.

"Cylon?" Apollo queried. The group all turned their heads to look at Sharon.

"Don't look at me." she said. "I'm only showing you the way to the tomb."

"It's stopped." Apollo announced. He rummaged in the pockets of his jacket for his binoculars. He pulled them out and then searched for the source of the noise. "I don't see any Cylon ships." he said. He searched for a moment more, the rest of the party waiting for his next statement. "There's blue." he stated suddenly. "There's blue in the trees." he turned to Sharon and held out his binoculars to his father. Commander Adama took them. "Are the Cylon ships blue?" Apollo asked her.

The Cylon shook her head. "Unless they've changed their design... no." she answered.

Commander Adama handed the binoculars to President Roslin, Starbuck and Tom Zarek in turn. Each claimed to see the same blue.

"What is it?" Starbuck inquired.

"My bets would be on a ship." said Zarek. "Do you think it could be a human-occupied ship?" he asked, a tinge of hope ringing in his voice.

From beside him, President Roslin's eyes grew wide. "Should we risk contact?" she asked Commander Adama. "It's a military decision, I believe." as she spoke a small smile crossed her face.

"I suggest we observe for the time being, sir." Apollo suggested quietly, talking to his father. "There's no knowing if it could actually be a ship, or if the occupants are friendly." he said.

Commander Adama said nothing – he only nodded.

Tom Zarek still had possession of Apollo's binoculars. He continued to peer through them as the party discussed the shade of blue in the trees (which could possibly be a ship full of humanoids). Whilst President Roslin was in the middle of bringing up the point that they weren't far from the entrance to the tomb, Zarek called for them to come back over.

"Look." he said, handing the binoculars to Apollo. "Humans. Three of them." he sounded excited.

"They could be Cylons." Roslin chimed in. "We only know eight models out of the twelve." she said.

"Approach." Commander Adama ordered. "But I want your guns ready for any form of hostility whatsoever."

They moved out without a second thought.


	2. Home

_**A/N: I suppose one follow is good enough, haha.**_

* * *

"Where are we?" Amy asked. Despite her annoyance at being woken up in the middle of the night, the Doctor could tell she was excited. "Please tell me it's not Earth. Because it's so like our luck to end up on Earth out of all places in the universe..."

The Doctor just grinned. "Scanners show we've only travelled a few decades into your future." he tapped a few buttons. "Oh! It's a habitable planet." he announced. "Definitely not Earth so... we can go out." he said, beaming. Amy stuck her tongue out in response.

"What's it called?" Rory queried. The Doctor glanced to Rory and immediately sniggered – the nurse was very unhappy about being pulled out of bed. "What?" he asked sharply. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh, no." The Doctor assured him a cheeky smile. "Just thinking." he claimed. He then remembered Rory's question. "The planet is called Kobol. It's a sister-planet of Earth." he informed the Ponds. "Supposedly uninhabited by humans, but the scanners are picking up various life forms..." he trailed off, looking at the blinking lights on his screen. Each showed him an individual heat signature. There were ten or eleven in the trees not far from the TARDIS's landing position.

Amy was the first to make her way to the door, unbeknownst the Doctor, who was engrossed in the humanoid readings he was getting from the heat scanner. He had never been to Kobol before. He knew from his brief travels of the galaxy it resided in that it was uninhabited. Why there were people here he didn't know, but the curiosity in him was screaming to find out.

Fortunately for him, not shortly after the Doctor joined his two companions outside, there was a mass of yelling and the heat signatures the Doctor had picked up before emerged from the trees. Not so fortunately, they held guns which happened to be pointed squarely at him and the Ponds.

All three of them raised his hands to beside their heads. A man in an ill-fitting camouflage uniform stepped forward, who was accompanied by a woman who wore something resembling a suit.

"Are you Cylons?" asked the man, without preamble. The people with guns tensed.

The Doctor gestured to the Ponds with his head. "Those two are human." he clarified. He jerked his thumbs to himself, even though they were posed beside his head. "I'm not human, and most certainly not a Cylon." he added.

The marines didn't lower their weapons. The man and the woman exchanged glances. It was the woman who spoke next. "What are you doing on Kobol?" she asked.

"Ah, well..." The Doctor tried very hard not to move his hands from beside his head – he wanted to gesture wildly to the TARDIS behind him. The Ponds were both looking at him. "Us three..." he began. "The box behind me is our spaceship. She's called a TARDIS, but she rather prefers being called – "

"Inspect the ship." the man ordered.

"Wait." the woman put up a hand. "Let him answer my question, Commander." she said.

The Doctor smiled weakly in her direction. "I entered random coordinates, so it was just by chance we ended up here." he explained. "I didn't know you were here... and don't really intent to intervene with what you're doing, but if you need help... I'd be happy to assist." he smiled again.

In the corner of his eye he saw the Ponds cringe, and it made him grin even more.

"That's what I do, anyway." he took the opportunity to say, when greeted by silence from the two spokespeople. "I'm the Doctor, always here to –"

_Crack_.

* * *

Starbuck had no clue how Sharon got hold of the gun, but the next thing she knew the newcomer 'Doctor' was down and everything dissolved into chaos.

Military instincts kicked in and she tackled the Cylon to the ground. The gun clattered out of her hand when she hit the grass. The Cylon made no attempt to fight Starbuck off – she lay on the grass just as stunned as everyone else seemed to be.

Starbuck glanced back to where the alien and his friends had been standing. A big-nosed guy appeared to be giving orders. Someone had run off to fetch a medkit. Commander Adama hadn't moved from where he'd been standing, and it appeared President Roslin was trying to console him. The ginger was pressing down hard on her friend's chest, but even from a good ten feet away Starbuck could see the red of his blood seeping from in between her fingers.

From what she'd heard from Apollo about the other Sharon shooting Adama, this was almost the exactly the same scenario. It would probably explain why the old man wasn't looking too ship-shape right now.

The medkit came. The ginger moved from her friend's chest to his head, cradling it like a baby. He actually seemed to be awake in the midst of all the blood and tears. Someone almost got a needle into the injured man's arm but the big-nosed guy knocked it away.

Minutes dissolved into hours and they eventually moved back into the trees, despite the big-nose guy yelling something about a TARDIS and how it could help his friend. The old man had refused his proposition and said, "All three of you, alive or not, are coming back to Galactica for questioning."

And that had been the end of that.

Apollo filled Starbuck in. "The bullet hit him just above his heart. Didn't hit an artery but we can't tell if it hit any major organs or if there's internal bleeding. The external bleeding's just about stopped now. He's pretty lucky... a little lower and he would have bled out." he said. "He should live... but he lost a notable amount of blood. The old man's saying we're going to find the tomb and then head straight back to Galactica."

"What I don't understand is why we're helping three complete strangers." she inputted halfway through. "They could be Cylon sleeper agents for all we know."

"It was on President Roslin's orders." he had replied. "Something to do with preserving the human race." they both stifled a laugh. "But I understand what she's going for. If we're going to win this war... we're going to need all the man power we can get." he said. "And if they've got a spaceship and can fly it... that's another one-hundred reasons to take them aboard."

"Touché." Starbuck responded with a grumble.

Apollo shouldered her and smiled. He was about to get up, but then paused halfway there. "The old man is trying to find out why Sharon shot him." he added.

She assumed he was talking about the Doctor. "And?" Starbuck prompted. "What has she said?" she asked.

"It's just this one mantra." Apollo replied, getting to his feet. "'He brings the end'."


	3. The Tomb

_**A/N: Friendly reminder that the scene where Meier confronts Sharon about 'taking matters into her own hands' never happened, so there will be no shootout in this chapter. Thanks to the reviewer, as well – I will be sure to finish the piece.**_

* * *

The night passed slowly and the sun eventually rose. Both Amy and Rory were awake all night. The Doctor had been asleep – if you could call it that. Rory had given the diagnostic of the Time Lord's condition to various people but none of them seemed to care past the idea that he could fly the TARDIS – a spaceship.

Amy was snuggled right up to her imaginary friend. He seemed to have acknowledged her presence next to him, despite being unconscious – he was lying just slightly on his side, one arm placed just next to the ginger's head. It looked like he was trying to soothe her in his sleep. Amy was holding the other hand of her friend very tightly. From what Rory could tell, she was asleep.

Rory was sitting next to them both; just observing. Every so often people would come by, but nothing more than a quick glance would be shared. The only people who spoke to the two Ponds were the two spokespeople from when the Doctor had originally been shot.

Sharon was apparently the girl's name. Rory had caught it in amongst all the shouting while he was trying his very best to stop his friend from bleeding out. At the moment she was sitting with another man. She was now sporting three sets of handcuffs, each linking both wrists together.

An assault like that could be called attempted murder if the people of this group looked at it the right way. Rory knew that much. The Doctor was very much alive next to him and his wife, but he would need further medical treatment soon. If he dies out here there would be no getting back to Earth, and Rory didn't fancy staying with these people much longer. Everything about them just screamed trouble.

One of the spokespeople – the woman – was approaching when Rory looked up. She smiled at him and he smiled back, although it wasn't exactly genuine. She glanced at the Doctor and Amy for a brief moment, her brow creasing, but her attention was on Rory.

She sat next to him. "Will your friend be alright?" she queried.

"He should live." he replied. "But he needs to see a doctor. A proper doctor. Things could be wrong internally. It's completely impossible to tell from the outside." he explained.

"There will be a doctor aboard the Galactica when you arrive." she assured. "Now do forgive me for asking after all this trouble... but what is your name?" she asked.

"I'm Rory. Rory Williams." he answered.

"Very nice to meet you Rory." she said. "I'm Laura Roslin; President of the Twelve Colonies." she introduced herself. "Madame President will do, though." she added with a wry smile. She then gestured to Amy. "And is she your wife?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. Madame President." he responded. "Her name is Amy." he cast his eyes over the Doctor next to her. "Amy Pond." he said.

"And your friend is a doctor too, I presume?" President Roslin continued.

"Oh... no, no he's not." Rory replied. "He's _the_ Doctor. It's his name."

"Sounds more like a nickname." she mused, smiling. President Roslin then turned to face Rory, hands clasped in her lap. "I'm truly sorry for the actions of our Cylon prisoner." she apologized. "She's only down on the surface to lead us to the Tomb of Athena. She hasn't acted up at all. This would be the only instance since we've met this version of her." The President sighed. "Actions will be taken once we get back to the Galactica; I promise you that much." she added.

"Madame President." a rough voice interjected into the conversation. "We'll be leaving soon." the holder came into view – it was the male spokesperson. He gave Rory a curt glance before turning to walk away.

"Don't mind him." President Roslin assured. "He doesn't trust your story. I, for one, don't see how else you could have come across us." she smiled. "We're going to be leaving you and your friends here with two or three escorts." she then said. "Once we've reached the Tomb and retrieved what we need, we'll come back here and call for the raptors to pick us up." she continued. "Commander Adama called it 'excess baggage'." she laughed.

Rory didn't laugh. "Thanks." he told her. "Madame President."

With a gentle nod, President Roslin picked herself up from the ground and then walked away to join the rest of her party.

* * *

It didn't take them long to get moving. Two of the marines from the Galactica were left behind – they needed everyone else to be with the rest of the group. As before, President Roslin and Commander Adama were in front. Sharon was just behind them, still in cuffs, accompanied by Helo, Starbuck, Apollo and now the Chief.

"I don't trust them." Commander Adama said about halfway into their journey.

"Neither do I, but I have said before and I will say again – they have a ship which they can pilot." President Roslin responded.

"I still don't trust them. It can't be a coincidence that they cross paths with us." he counteracted. "Once we get back to Galactica the ones that are still alive are going straight to the Brig." he said.

"You could ask the Cylon." she suggested after a pause. "All she's going to say about him is that phrase, but maybe Helo could get something else out of her." she alleged.

Commander Adama was about to respond, but then Starbuck shouted, "There!"

Everyone looked up to where she was pointing. The trees parted ahead of them, indicating the formation of a path. They quickened their pace down the track. The trees above them continued to thin as they walked, and soon enough they were met with a clearing.

Starbuck and Apollo approached a rock structure. "This is the door." Apollo announced. "See an arrow hole, Starbuck?" he queried.

They tried for several minutes until the only resource was to push back the door with their bare hands. Behind the group about to enter the Tomb, Zarek and Meier exchanged glances.

"You three please wait outside." President Roslin said before going in. She gestured to the remaining marine, Zarek and Meier. When Meier opened his mouth to object she purely smiled and interjected, "Security. Don't take it personally." and she disappeared into the doorway.


	4. Stitches & Earth

_**A/N: You get two chapters today because the world's supposed to be ending and all...**_

* * *

The marines were tense. They were both leaning against a tree not far from where Rory was sitting. They appeared to be talking, but at the same time watching the three time travellers very closely. The nurse suspected they were on orders to do just that.

The party had been gone for around two hours or so now. The Doctor was still out cold and Amy was still asleep next to him. Rory had to check the bandages in a couple of minutes so he'd take that opportunity to wake his wife – the party should be back soon.

When Rory finally did move to check on the Time Lord the marines raised their guns. When he knelt down next to the Doctor they lowered their weapons, but they still watched him do his work. He tried his best to ignore them by turning his back on them.

"Amy." he chose to wake his wife first. She stirred and grumbled as he gently shook her awake. "Amy, wake up." she eventually opened her eyes. Rory smiled at her. "You've been out like a light since last night." he informed, rhyming unintentionally.

"Have you slept?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Dozed off a couple of times, though." he assured when she opened her mouth to voice her concerns. "I had to make sure the Doctor was alright." he told her.

Amy got herself upright. The marines tensed. "Is he?" she queried. "Is he alright?"

Rory was in the middle of checking the bandages when she asked. "The bleeding's pretty much stopped." he explained. "But when we move him back up to the ship they keep talking about it might disturb the wound." he added. "Can you get some fresh bandages out of the medkit?" he asked Amy once he'd finished his examination. "These are almost soaked through."

She bit her lip but then moved off to find the red box. Rory was surprised she hadn't gone off at the marines. They both watched her as she retrieved the bandages and came back over. In that time Rory had gently removed almost all the old material from around the Time Lord's chest.

He took the bandages from Amy and then re-applied the material carefully, building up plenty of padding around the bullet hole. Amy watched the whole time. The disturbance made the wound bleed slightly, but once the bandages were tight enough the red stopped spreading.

"He's lucky he's got two hearts." Rory voiced to his wife. "Otherwise I don't think he would have survived this." he said.

"Reassuring." she muttered in reply.

Rory glanced at the marines and they stared back. He leant in close to Amy. "This would be much easier if we could get back to the TARDIS." he said.

"You heard what they said." Amy returned. "And I don't we'd be able to carry him without his wound opening up again." she added.

Rory nodded in agreement. "But once we're up on their ship there's no chance of getting back down to the TARDIS any time soon." he brought up.

"The Doctor will think of something." Amy assured them both. "Or River will come and save us." she added in a whisper.

Rory glanced over his shoulder. Both the marines were focused elsewhere. He was about to turn back when they raised their guns in the direction the party had left.

"What is it?" Amy queried. She was watching the two marines as well.

"The group's coming back, I think." he replied.

Sure enough, various shouts were exchanged. Both sides established they were friendly, and eventually President Roslin and her military counterpart appeared from the thicket of the trees.

Another half an hour later there was a loud boom from overhead, followed by four more. Both Rory and Amy flinched at the noise, but the Doctor remained still. The party watched the treetops as shadows were cast over the forest floor.

President Roslin came over to the Ponds as the party began to move. "The Raptors are here." she informed them both. "We'll be leaving now." she said. "Once Commander Adama is happy with your story about crossing paths with us we will drop you back down on the surface to retrieve your ship." she added. "Do you need assistance in carrying your friend?" she gestured to the Doctor.

"That would be nice." Amy responded for Rory.

President Roslin narrowed her eyes at the ginger. "I don't believe we've met." she began. "I'm Laura Roslin; President of the Twelve Colonies." she introduced herself to Amy. "You are to address me as Madame President." she continued.

Amy glanced at Rory. Rory just blinked at her and took a deep breath. The ginger swallowed her pride.

"Sorry. Madame President. It would be nice if someone could help us." she corrected herself.

President Roslin smiled warmly. "I'll arrange it now for you." she said.

* * *

Apollo was halfway down the hill when Roslin called him back up. He groaned to himself and then climbed back to the top. She smiled at him once he was close enough. He smiled back.

"Yes, Madame President?" he asked politely.

"Our newcomers need a little help getting their friend down to the Raptors." she explained, gesturing vaguely to where Rory and his wife were.

"We're not letting them back to their ship, then?" he queried.

"Commander Adama has said no." the President replied. "He wants the pilot to assist in the fleet with his piloting skills. He's also going to arrange for Rory to help Doctor Cottle with his medical experience." she added.

"And the woman?" Apollo probed.

President Roslin pulled a face. "Amy." she corrected Apollo. "She'll probably end up on a civilian ship with the rest of the population." she answered.

Apollo nodded. "They'll be a good addition to the fleet, I hope." he commented. He then said goodbye to President Roslin and went to help the three strangers.

It didn't take long to get their injured friend down the slope and into one of the Raptors. The man named Rory was stressing half the time because of the disturbance to the wound, but Apollo would assure him that Doctor Cottle on the Galactica was good at what he does. Rory's wife was slightly calmer than her husband about the whole situation. She helped to get her friend down the hill and lay him down on the floor of the Raptor.

Apollo ended up assisting in piloting the Raptor with the three strangers sitting in the back. There was no conversation made on the way back up to Galactica. There was only Apollo and the pilot exchanging miniscule chatter and orders with the other ships. There was also the exchange with Galactica about their landing and arrangements for Doctor Cottle to be in the hangar bay on arrival. They were there in no time and the Raptor soon landed with the other four not far behind.

On landing the three strangers were ushered out of the Raptor. The injured 'Doctor' was placed on a stretcher and wheeled away, whereas the husband and wife were taken in the opposite direction. Both of them weren't very happy about that. The ginger's calm façade wore off and she made in a scene in the hallway nearest to the Brig. Her husband wasn't all too happy about the situation either, but remained silent as he was led through the hallways of the Galactica.

Eventually they reached their destination. Apollo was lucky enough to be ordered to watch them both until Commander Adama could come in and question them both. He commanded the guard on duty to put them both in the same cell – they'd both been through enough already.

The ginger was still upset. Her husband was trying his best to comfort her. Apollo would catch snippets of their exchange every now and again.

"You know human medicines can kill him, right?" she sniffed.

"I would have said something but they wouldn't have listened." her husband replied. "Hopefully the doctor in charge is smart enough to figure it out. The two hearts should be a big hint." he smiled reassuringly.

The ginger sniffed again. "If it's bad he can just regenerate." she said. "Or go into a healing coma... but you said he'd be fine, right?" she inquired.

"If there's no internal bleeding." he said. "They should have let me go with him." he mumbled.

"I don't think they trust us." the ginger replied. "The cell is the thing giving it away." they both laughed. "I don't think I'd trust us either... We did appear out of nowhere, after all." she rested her head on her husband's chest. "Hopefully this will all be over soon." she said.

Commander Adama eventually came. He dismissed Apollo and told him to oversee what was happening in the CIC. He followed orders and eventually the three strangers were forgotten as he became absorbed in all the affairs going around the large room.

* * *

The male spokesperson came in. The guard who helped them on Kobol saluted him and then left. The other guard in black remained and saluted the man also.

"Open the door." he ordered.

The guard did as he was told. The man took a seat on the bunk in the corner of the room. Amy and Rory watched him from their place on the floor. Both sides stared at each other for a very long time.

Eventually it got unbearable. "I don't think we've been introduced." said the man. "I'm Commander William Adama of the Colonial Fleet." he presented himself. "I command the Battlestar Galactica, which is this very ship." he explained. "I have a number of questions," he then said after a pause, "regarding your appearance on Kobol and your ship."

Amy and Rory exchanged glances. Silently, it was decided Rory would be the one to answer all the questions – Amy knew that she would take this out of hand. They wanted to be on their side if they were going to get back to the TARDIS.

Rory cleared his throat. "Alright, sir." he answered.

Before Commander Adama was about to ask the first question the door opened again. President Roslin walked in. "I hope you don't mind if I join you, Commander." she said. "I believe this is both a military and political affair." she reasoned.

When ordered by the Commander, the guard let her in and she sat herself next to him.

"How did you come across us on Kobol?" he asked his first question.

"As the Doctor said before," Rory began, "it was just a coincidence. He found this thing called a randomizer and decided to test it out. We ended up on Kobol and came across you." he explained.

"And it never occurred to you that we may have not been friendlies?" the Commander probed.

"The Doctor's curious." Rory answered. "He'll march right into the middle of anywhere or anything and just hope for the best." he explained. Next to him, Amy grinned in agreement.

This time, Commander Adama and President Roslin exchanged glances. "Where did you get your ship from?" was the next question asked by the Commander.

"It's not ours." Rory responded. "It's the Doctor's... we never got the full story on how he managed to obtain it." he said. "She's called the TARDIS." he added at the end.

It was President Roslin who asked the next question. "How did you survive the attack?" she inquired.

Rory blinked. "What attack?" he asked.

The two interrogators exchanged glances again. "The Cylon attack." they said together. Rory had no answer and neither did Amy. The two interrogators looked extremely puzzled. "Which colony are you from?" President Roslin then asked.

"If by colony you mean city... Leadworth." he replied. "In the UK." he added. They continued to look clueless. "On Earth?" he added for good measure.

That was what provoked the reaction. Even the guard was listening now. "You're from... Earth?" Commander Adama asked in what appeared to be disbelief.

Rory nodded slowly. "You know... where all the humans live?" he continued.

Everyone in the room appeared to be speechless. Amy and Rory were taken aback by the interrogators' reactions to their place of origin.

Ultimately it was the President was could form words first. "We were on Kobol looking for the path to Earth." she explained. "It appears we found it." she smiled. The Commander nodded from next to her. "Are you able to show us how to get there?" she asked.

"Only the Doctor can." Amy replied this time, despite the agreement of Rory answering all the questions. "But that would be only be if he survives. Rory needs to be there. The Doctor isn't human, and some medicines are deadly to him." she took advantage of the situation.

"Arrange for Rory to be sent to the sick bay." Commander Adama told the guard.

"I'd like to speak with Amy." President Roslin told the Commander. "Are you done with your interrogation, Commander?" she asked.

He nodded. The guard let him out and soon he was gone. Not shortly after the guard who helped them on Kobol came back to fetch Rory. He introduced himself as Apollo briefly before leaving for the sickbay.

Rory looked back at Amy as the door closed. She smiled at him. He smiled back. Perhaps it was going to be alright after all.


	5. Healing Touch Part 1

_**A/N: This chapter has two parts. I also apologize for it being dialogue-based... I tried to cut it down but failed miserably. This chapter is entirely from Amy's point of view.**_

* * *

The President and Amelia Pond had a lengthy discussion about the scriptures, religion, the Gods, God and Earth. Amy was able to explain the philosophy of Earth to the President, and the President was able to explain the scriptures of the Twelve Colonies to Amy.

"It's said that the thirteen Gods became the thirteen colonies, but only twelve of the colonies are known. The remaining is Earth... and it has been nothing but a children's story up until now." The President had explained.

"No one really knows how the Earth came to be." Amy had explained. "People who are religious believe God created the Earth and the people, but I've never really been that religious. The common explanation is the Big Bang theory – one day everything just appeared out of nothing." she had said. "Other people believe we evolved from other animals to what we are today." she had added. "No one really knows." she finished with, adding a small smile for good measure.

They then went on to discuss space travel. "How many other humans are space travellers?" President Roslin asked.

"In the future there are plenty... but in the twenty-first century it's Rory, myself and a few other select people who have travelled with the Doctor." was the elaborate answer. When the President looked perplexed Amy added, "The TARDIS travels in time as well – so we're space-time travellers." she smiled.

"Right." The President seemed unsure. "And what is Earth like?" she went on to query.

"It depends which part you're talking about." Amy replied. "And which place in the timeline you are. The Doctor said when we landed on that planet that we'd travelled forward a couple of years, so I'm not sure what Earth is doing right now." she elaborated.

"You do seem to know what you're talking about." President Roslin commented with a small smile. "How long have you been travelling with your Doctor?" she inquired.

Amy thought about this. "It's hard to say." she answered. "It's always been on and off – it's like he can't decide what to do with us." she alleged.

"We have the same problem." the President chimed in. "The attack that I mentioned before by the Cylons..." she trailed off. "We have been at war with them for nearly a year now." she said after a pause. "The fleet in which the Galactica leads are supposedly the last remaining humans in the galaxy." she continued. "That was until you told us about Earth." she added with a rather large smile.

"What about the other twelve colonies?" asked Amy, but she seemed to realize the answer to her question before the President could reply. "Oh." she uttered, almost breathlessly. "I'm sorry." she said.

President Roslin just smiled. "Unless it's your fault, I don't feel you need to apologize." she said.

"It wasn't." Amy confirmed. "It's just... the Doctor saves people. And maybe if we got to your twelve colonies at the right time, we could have saved the other people before you were attacked." she voiced.

"The attack was inevitable." returned the President. "The scale of it suggests it was planned for months, possibly years." she said. "Plus," she began. "the only reasonable Cylon we've come across is the one that shot your friend." she added.

"Did you find out why?" queried Amy.

"Unfortunately not." President Roslin replied. "All we could get out of her was that your friend brings the end." she stated.

Amy had to hide the snigger by wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "We get that a lot." she decided to say. "But he didn't even know what was going on with the Cylons and your fleet, so I don't see why there was a need to hurt him." she uttered.

"One of the pilots is close to Sharon." the President began. "They were alone on Caprica together for some while, and she informed him that the Cylons have a concept of God and religion." she continued. "Your friend could be the equivalent of the end of a life in their notion." she suggested.

"But why?" asked Amy.

"Maybe he does bring the end." she speculated. "The end to the Cylons, and the end to the search for Earth. Maybe that's why he needs to be destroyed." she said.

Amy nodded in agreement and began to return her thoughts, but the hatch door began to open. It had been a number of hours since Rory had left to tend to the Doctor – the subject had drifted from Amy's mind entirely as she talked with this woman.

The guard which helped them on the planet appeared in the doorway – Amy believed his nickname was Apollo, if she remembered correctly. He invited them both to follow him to the sickbay. The President declined, claiming to be needed with Commander Adama, but Amy agreed. The President and Amy said farewell and went their separate ways.

She received many stares as she was walked through the hallways. She tried her best to ignore them and focus on the man in front of her – it was reassuring that _someone_ knew where they were going. All along each corridor many hatches dotted the walls, and this Apollo never stopped at any of them.

The only notable thing that happened was that when Amy and Apollo walked through one hallway, a hatch was open. Amy looked inside as she passed, and a small, creepy-looking man peered back at her. It sent shivers down her spine.

As if reading her thoughts Apollo piped up, "That's Gaius Baltar. He's the scientist on the Galactica."

"He's creepy." she let the comment escape from her mouth.

Apollo chuckled. "I'm glad someone agrees with me."

They turned a corner and Apollo directed her to another open hatch. She stepped through, almost catching her foot on the door and was met with the small of morphine and anaesthetic. It reminded her of the days she'd gone to visit Rory in the comatose ward.

"Just around there." Apollo said, gesturing to a corner in the room.

Amy thanked him and disappeared back out the hatch and into the hallways of the ship. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to expect, but curiosity won and she rounded the corner. The Doctor was lying three bed downs on the opposite wall, and Rory was leaning over him. Another man – who she assumed to the doctor the President had spoken about – was also in the company of the two time travellers, but he was smoking, much to Amy's disgust. She began to approach slowly, taking deep breaths to steady herself – something in the room was making her feel uneasy.

"Rory?" Amy questioned her husband once she was close enough.

Both the medically experienced men looked up. The doctor looked back down at the Doctor, but Rory encased Amy in tight hug. "Amy." he mumbled into her hair.

She pulled away from his embrace, more interested in the Doctor. She moved over to the bed and took the Time Lord's hand, squeezing it tightly. His skin felt cold underneath her fingertips.

Amy didn't even have to ask, as Rory explained, "There was a little internal bleeding – nothing too major. Doctor Cottle and I fixed it up an hour or two ago." he paused.

"If you'd excuse me," Doctor Cottle inputted before Rory could continue. "I have to tend to my other patients." Amy caught a whiff of cigarette smoke as he turned and walked away.

"What was that about?" she asked Rory.

Her husband made a face. "He doesn't like me very much." he replied. "Our methods are different – I suppose it's because we learnt in completely different places." he said.

Amy nodded, unsure of another way to respond. She looked over the Doctor again. "You were saying?" she probed him to continue.

Rory cleared his throat. "The bullet caused the bleeding. It was lodged in his bloodstream and pierced the wall, but luckily the bullet itself acted as a plug and stopped him from bleeding out internally." he said. "But there were other complications." he added.

"Like what?" she asked immediately.

"The bullet was in his bloodstream for too long." Rory began. "It poisoned his blood." he uttered after some hesitation. "He has three weeks at most until he dies of heart failure."


	6. Healing Touch Part 2

_**A/N: Part two of two. Five-six chapters, five follows, three favourites and two reviews is pretty good for the dying BSG fandom, I suppose. I'm glad everyone's enjoying reading my fanon... I'm certainly enjoying writing my fanon.**_

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_Rory cleared his throat. "The bullet caused the bleeding. It was lodged in his bloodstream and pierced the wall, but luckily the bullet itself acted as a plug and stopped him from bleeding out internally." he said. "But there were other complications." he added._

_"Like what?" she asked immediately._

_"The bullet was in his bloodstream for too long." Rory began. "It poisoned his blood." he uttered after some hesitation. "He has three weeks at most until he dies of heart failure."_

"Regeneration?" asked Amy; it was her last source of hope.

"It could be possible or it couldn't – I don't see it happening so I have no idea." Rory returned. "How did it happen last time?" he asked.

"I didn't see him regenerate." she said. "He's never told me much about it... Just that he changes his face. And has cravings for all sorts of food afterwards." she added.

They both shared a laugh. Amy savoured the sound. She then embraced Rory again, gripping him tightly. "We're going to be stuck here." she said. "If the Doctor dies... we'll be stuck here." she repeated. "We need to get to the TARDIS." she stated firmly. "The TARDIS can help him, can't she?" she asked.

Rory nodded slowly. "It'll be better equip than here." he voiced. "I may be able to stabilize him in the TARDIS much better so I can wake him up. Then he can tell us how to help him." he said.

"We have to ask." Amy said.

"The Commander and the President will be here soon." Rory assured his wife. "Doctor Cottle informed Adama of the Doctor's condition before we told you. He wanted to come and talk to us with the President but didn't say what about." he said.

"You're really calm about this." Amy commented idly.

"Far from it." Rory responded. "I'm panicking... Like you said, we're stuck here unless we can save the Doctor's life." he said. "But it's just easier to act like you know what you're doing, because then maybe you'll fool yourself." he grinned weakly in his wife's direction, but the worry now all over his face betrayed him completely. "It's not working, though." he mumbled. "How are you holding up?" he asked, attempting to change the subject but failing miserably.

"No better than you." she responded. "I don't know what to think about this." she said. "I'm panicking, worrying and incredibly concerned for the Doctor, but everyone around me is so calm... it's surreal." she said. "The President told me they've been out here for almost a year now." she informed Rory.

"They've probably had their time to panic." he uttered.

"It's that easy to get over?" questioned Amy. "Being stranded out here for the rest of our lives?"

Rory let his eyelids slide shut. "The Doctor's going to be fine. That's what I keep telling myself." he mumbled. "And you're here. That makes it bearable." he smiled at her.

"What if the Doctor does die?" Amy then continued to ask. "What happens to us, aside from being stuck here? The TARDIS?" she questioned. "Our families? Our _lives_?"

"He won't die." Rory responded. "If he survives the trip back to the TARDIS, he won't die." he said. When Amy still looked unconvinced he added, "It's a feeling, you know?" he asked. "Deep down in my bones. Can't you feel it too?" he looked hopefully at her.

Amy shook her head. "At the moment all I can feel is dread." she said.

Rory sighed, and he began to encase her in a hug again, but was interrupted by Commander Adama and President Roslin coming around the corner.

Both time travellers straightened up. "Commander, Madame President." Rory greeted both officials in turn properly, much to Amy's surprise. She guessed he'd just been watching too many war movies.

"Rory." The President smiled at the nurse. "Amy." she also smiled warmly at Amy, which she returned.

"Doctor Cottle informed me of the Doctor's condition." Commander Adama said, without preamble or his sympathies. "Is there anything that can be done to improve his condition?" he asked.

"The TARDIS." Amy said immediately. "The Doctor's ship. We need to get back to it."

The Commander and the President exchanged glances. It appeared they'd discussed this beforehand. "You'll leave before you can show us how to reach Earth." the Commander claimed.

"Amy and I can't fly the TARDIS." Rory countered after a moment's pause. "We would only be able to leave if the Doctor woke up, and that's very unlikely, given his condition." he said. "Even if he did recover, I doubt he'd be strong enough to be able to fly it anyway." he then continued. "It's a big effort in order to fly it, sir. You should know how difficult it is to fly a ship." he reasoned.

The Commander seemed partially convinced, whereas the President cocked an eyebrow at Rory's cunning. Amy gave her a curious glance, but the redheaded woman only smiled.

"How long would it take for him to recover?" Commander Adama queried. "We've already jumped away from Kobol, as the planet was being patrolled by Cylon forces. The Raptors are able to jump back there, but they risk running into the Cylons again." he said.

"The people who accompany us in the Raptor can be our escorts." Rory suggested. "They can land nearby and keep an eye on us to make sure we don't leave, even though the Doctor is in no condition to fly his ship." he articulated.

"You're a very interesting man, Rory Williams." the President said, using Rory's full name. "It seems you're a very good nurse for a reason." she gave Rory a strange smile, which was returned, but Amy could tell the President didn't trust them both.

Much to their fortune, however, the Commander did. "I'll assign you Apollo and a few marines." he said. "Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning – oh-six hundred hours in the landing bay." he commanded. "In the meantime, get some rest." he then said. "I'm sure Doctor Cottle won't mind you spending the night with your friend."

Both officials left. The President began a hushed conversation with the Commander as they both turned the corner. Amy was too far from them to hear what it was about.

She turned to her husband. "You've been watching too many war movies." she commented.

"I have – had – lots of spare time." he retorted, grinning.

Amy perched herself on the bed next to the Doctor's. "Are you sure we're allowed to spend the night here?" she asked. "Surely they need the beds." she said. She unconsciously flattened down the sheets underneath her palm, which Rory took as an invitation.

He sat beside her. "Nah." he replied. "We'll be fine for one night." he said. Amy leant into him. He looped an arm around her shoulders. "They still don't trust us." he uttered quietly.

"You don't say." returned Amy, and Rory sniggered in response. "The President and I talked about Earth." she said. "She seemed very into it. I got the impression she liked me, but before said something entirely different. Did you see the looks she gave us both?" she queried.

"Yes." Rory replied. "I didn't know quite how to describe what it was... It was like she was sizing us up as threats." he said.

That reminded Amy of another part of the conversation. "I think she also figured out why the Doctor was shot." said Amy. Rory looked at her. "When the Sharon woman was asked why she did it, the reply was that the Doctor brings the end."

"The end of what?" Rory inquired.

"She said the Cylons had a concept of religion and God, and that perhaps brings the end of their race. Perhaps it was foretold and Sharon acted as she did because she didn't want to be destroyed by him." Amy explained.

"It sounds reasonable." commented Rory.

Amy nodded. "But that means there will be more attempts on his life." she bought up. "If the Cylons managed to wipe out almost the entire human race out here, there has to be millions of them." she said. "The Doctor's in a lot of danger here. Perhaps it would be easier if we did just leave when we got back to the TARDIS." she suggested.

"Not with the escort." Rory returned. "They'd shoot us dead on the spot – it's only the Doctor they need." he said. "We can't leave. We want these people to trust us as much as possible." he concluded.

"Amen." Amy mumbled.


	7. Crash Landing

_**A/N: You know... you guys could review more... :-(**_

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Rory woke first the following morning. He extracted himself from Amy's grip and checked on the Doctor. His breathing was as steady as it could be, although his hearts were being to strain already – perhaps Rory had overshot his guess a little bit. He then checked the time and discovered it to only be an hour away from six o'clock.

Still yawning, he woke Amy. The ginger grumbled at it, complaining it was early, but then he told they needed to get down to the hangar bay. At that she got up and checked on the Doctor herself. Rory watched as she spoke to him in a hushed time, stroked his ridiculous mop of brown hair, and straightened his red bowtie.

Rory signed the Doctor out of the sickbay with the consent of Doctor Cottle, also signed out a stretcher and a medical kit, and then began the long trek to the hangar bay. Rory was in charge of wheeling the Doctor. Amy was the person who consulted with their guide – a small, dark skinned woman. She was genuinely friendly towards the both of them. She introduced herself as D, and then Anastasia.

It didn't take them long to reach the hangar bay. They had to carry the Doctor down on the stretcher the last bit of way, as there was no way to get him down there on a gurney. Amy fretted that they could drop him, but Rory assured her he had plenty of practice and the Doctor would be fine.

The hangar bay staff stared at them as they walked towards a Raptor in the middle of the room. Waiting there was Apollo and one man dressed in black – a marine. There was also a blonde woman who didn't a wee bit impressed about being here. He greeted both Amy and Rory with a wave and a smile. They cramped themselves into the small ship and were soon on their way.

"We'll have to jump back to Kobol." Apollo explained as they left the ship and emerged into space. "It is a little sickening if you're not used to it." he said. He flicked a couple of switches and the other woman did the same.

"FTL drive ready." she announced. "Commencing jump in five... four, three, two. One."

The ship lurched. Amy almost collided with Rory, but he caught her in his arms before she could. The marine who was standing didn't move as he steadied himself on the overhead.

"Jump completed." the woman announced. "Kobol in sight."

The ship veered to the right as they turned into the planet. They continued at a steady pace for three or four minutes as the planet's surface began to obscure the view in the front window.

Apollo then veered the ship violently the other way. "Raiders!" he announced loudly. The woman hissed. "Oh shut up, Starbuck." he said. "We'll get down to the surface." he assured her.

Amy and Rory exchanged nervous glances. Apollo and newly-named Starbuck continued to pilot the ship erratically, almost sending everyone in the back flying across the small cabin. Soon they neared the planet as Apollo had planned originally and the ship began to descend.

"We're in the atmosphere." announced Apollo. "But we need to land... and quick." he said. He veered the ship again sharply to the right and then the left, and then down again.

Rory could see the tops of the trees through the window in the front. He found himself gripping both Amy and the Doctor's limp hand tightly, praying silently. It was very possible that none of them were going to survive this landing. Amy seemed to share his thoughts as she squeezed his hand back and offered him a weak smile.

He returned it, but it was lost as the ship lurched violently forward. Something zoomed overhead and Apollo reacted immediately, descending towards an open part of the planet.

"Blue." Starbuck said, pointing, as Apollo continued to tug the ship around sharply, throwing all the passengers around. "Land there, Lee!" she exclaimed, pointing again.

Apollo – Lee – obeyed and descended there. The Raiders that had been announced earlier came into sight. They were shaped like a moon, the front of them curving in towards the head. The head had a red light and it was in the centre of the head, as if looking straight out them.

"Son of a bitch!" Starbuck cried. "Lee!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" he replied, equally loud. "Frakking hell Starbuck, you really think I'm trying to get us all killed?" he continued to descend and steer fiercely, apparently attempting to lose the ships which were tailing them.

Rory closed his eyes, again in a silent prayer, and was surprised when he was suddenly thrown across the room. He let out a surprised yelp. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. They were on the ground.

"Everyone alright?" called Apollo.

Rory checked on Amy and the Doctor. Amy hadn't moved from where she'd been sitting – she seemed traumatized. The Doctor had barely been disturbed from his place on the cabin floor. The marine was rubbing his head.

"Fine," they all chorused, including the feisty Starbuck.

"What happened?" asked Rory.

"We crashed, stupid." Starbuck replied. She had already begun to extract herself from the pilot's seat and force open the door. "The Cylons disabled us... we didn't have much of a choice of whether we got to crash or not." the door groaned under her push. Apollo joined in, as did the marine. Amy moved out of the way. "They're gone now. They probably suspect we're dead and injured, so it's no use wasting the big ammo on us now." she shoved the door again, and it moved on its hinges. "They'll pick us off with ground troops soon, so we need to get out of here. Now." the door finally gave way.

Rory shielded his eyes from the light outside – it was bright and the back of the Raptor was dark. Apollo took Amy's hand to help her out. Rory climbed out himself. It took all five of them to get the Doctor out. Rory checked on him briefly, a little less than satisfied, and then they began to trek up the hill and into the trees nearby the crashed Raptor.

Apollo and Starbuck began a hushed, frantic conversation as they walked. Rory couldn't help but listen in.

"Why didn't they kill us when we were in space?" Starbuck asked.

Apollo didn't even hesitate in his answer. "They wanted us alive, and so they have us alive." he looked behind him to the rapidly-disappearing wrecked Raptor. "No one's coming after us." he said.

"You could have killed us both with that landing." she then went on to complain. "I know you like being daddy's boy, but we all could have died back then. There's no way we're getting that Raptor flying again, thanks to you. We're frakking lucky the fuel tank didn't explode on us with the friction."

Apollo turned to face her, stopping. "Well I'm sorry for saving your life!" he exclaimed. "Next time I'll land nose first and have us crushed to death with the back of the Raptor." he began to storm off again, but then stopped himself. "This is about Anders, isn't it?" he asked.

"Don't you dare." she warned.

"You're frakking with me because we could be rescuing Anders right now and not the person who can lead us to _Earth_." Apollo claimed.

Starbuck scoffed. "I was _there_ when the old man said no." she said. "This is all Roslin's fault, you know." she then blamed the President. "If she hadn't sent me to Caprica to get the arrow I'd never have met Anders, recruited a frakking pregnant Cylon and love-blind Helo." she said.

"And we'd have never have met the Doctor." Apollo added innocently. "You think I'm okay with the old man denying more guns in the fight, too?" he then continued. "But he has a point – it's way too dangerous and way too demanding. When we're ready, Starbuck. Not now. Can we just focus on getting these people to their ship now?" he asked.

Starbuck fell silent. "Okay," she agreed. "_Captain._"


	8. The TARDIS

_**A/N: No reviews? Oh, okay... q_q**_

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They walked another half an hour. The ginger, the nurse and Apollo each took turns in carrying one end of the stretcher. Starbuck dubbed guarding along with Larry, the Galactica marine who accompanied them. She didn't want to be with Lee right now – she was still fuming from their confrontation before. Lucky for her, he seemed to notice and kept his distance when he wasn't carrying the stretcher.

When the ginger wasn't carrying the stretcher one time, she came up and walked next to Starbuck. She didn't say anything; she just walked next to her.

Starbuck just couldn't take the silence from her. "What?" she asked her sharply; irritably.

"You looked lonely." she claimed, offering Starbuck a small smile. Starbuck kept her hard gaze fixed forward and didn't return the gesture.

The ginger remained next to Starbuck until it was her turn to carry her friend with Apollo. Luckily, the nurse stayed next to the stretcher and kept up a conversation with the ginger and not with Starbuck. Apollo attempted to input every now and again, but it seemed he was failing at staying in the conversation.

"There," the marine pointed out suddenly, causing everyone to halt. "I see blue." he reported.

Apollo and the ginger set the stretcher down. Apollo fished for his binoculars in his pack, found them, and pulled them out. Starbuck scanned the trees and saw a deep blue – it appeared the marine wasn't lying. Apollo began to scan the area with his binoculars.

"The ship's there alright." he confirmed what the marine had announced. In the corner of her eye, Starbuck saw the ginger tense. "But it's almost certainly a trap. The Cylons know we're here. They've probably already salvaged the wreckage of the Raptor to pieces by now. They'll be looking for us." he withheld.

"We need to try." the ginger voiced. "The Doctor is going to die unless we can get down there." she said. The nurse nodded when Starbuck looked at him. "I have a key." she then alleged, pulling a string over her head from around her neck.

"It's so small." Apollo commented. "There's no way we're all going to fit in there." he said. "Maybe Rory should go with the Doctor... but I thought something that tiny thing would be able to fit more than one person." he turned to the ginger and the nurse, Rory. "How do you three fit in there together?" he asked.

Both of them grinned. "If you can get us down there we'll show you." the ginger claimed.

"We're not going down there if you're going to get us all killed." he stated, raising his voice a little. "The frakking thing's made of wood, anyway! The Cylons would blast through that easily." he said. "Why didn't we look at this before?" he questioned rhetorically, throwing his binoculars down. He put his head into his heads.

"Nothing gets into the TARDIS without the key." the ginger claimed and twirled the silver metal in between her fingers. "The Doctor always tells us that ship is the safest place in the galaxy. Once we're in there, the Cylons will never get to us." she alleged.

"And why should we believe you?" Starbuck butted in. "You happened to run across us in the middle of the entire frakking universe and only just remember to mention that you're from Earth?" she asked. "You're Cylons. You're cunning Cylons, but you're still frakking Cylons." she stated.

Apollo exchanged glances with the marine. Starbuck tensed her jaw, looking at the three strangers. Nothing said anything and no one moved. Starbuck locked eyes with the ginger, sizing her up.

"We're _not_ Cylons." the ginger stated firmly. "We're just as human as you are. If we were Cylons, why was the Doctor attacked by one? What's the use of attacking your own kind?" she raised a fair point.

"Cylons gone renegade, then." Starbuck corrected herself. "Cylons who need to be exterminated –" she noted that both of them winced, "– before they can cause harm to the other Cylons."

The ginger fumbled for a retort. She instead turned to Apollo. "We're not Cylons, okay? We don't want to hurt you... we want to help you. We want to show you the way to Earth and then let you be on your way." she claimed.

"Kara." Apollo ignored her and turned to Starbuck. "The old man's orders are that we are to _escort_ and _guard_ these three whilst they're on board their ship." he reiterated. "As much as you don't trust them – and no one is asking you to trust them _or_ like them – we have to abide with our orders." he said. She opened her mouth to retort, but Apollo read her mind; "And no, just because you haven't played by the rules before it doesn't give you permission to do so now. Orders are orders, and you will obey them. Do you understand, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Starbuck swallowed her pride and nodded. She threw a glare at the ginger just for good measure. The ginger tried her best to smile in response.

Starbuck turned back to Apollo. "So, what's the verdict, then? Trap or no trap?" she queried.

Apollo failed to hide his snigger at her sudden co-operation. He picked up his binoculars and looked through them again. "A trap, almost certainly. But we have to get down there soon; no exceptions. The dark's approaching fast and we don't want to be out here when the night does come." he answered.

"We should send two people down there to distract the Cylons – perhaps Apollo and the nurse – and then the others can move in and get into that ship... if they'll fit." Starbuck suggested.

Apollo pondered this. "It could work." he said. "But I don't want to put Rory into any danger. I should go with the marine." he counter suggested.

"Larry." the man in black offered unhelpfully.

"... with Larry." Apollo corrected himself sheepishly.

"Feign out the left." Starbuck continued to suggest. "Draw their attention over there... and then I'll come around the back of the ship with these three." she said.

"It'd be too obvious." Apollo claimed. "They'd know straight away."

As if on cue, a shadow came from overhead. When Starbuck looked up, she discovered it to be a Raider, which was no surprise. She took this into account. "How long have we been here?" she asked Apollo. "In line with the ship roughly, I mean." she added.

"About fifteen minutes. Why?" Apollo returned.

"That was a patrol Raider." she said. "There's likely other ones in the open too, but I think it'd take them a while to react if we were to appear." she claimed. "I don't think they'd expect us to move this fast, because surely they'd assume some of us are injured from the crash." she said.

"Improvise, basically." Apollo translated. "And make a run for it?"

Starbuck nodded. "Now would be the best time, considering that Raider just went over." she pointed out. "I know it's not the best of plans... but what else can we do? We only expected a sort run from the Raptor to the other ship, so we didn't bring any big guns." she said.

"It's going to have to do." Apollo agreed, though still seemed unsure. He glanced to the three strangers. "Are you alright with this?" he asked them.

The ginger nodded furiously. "We've had plenty of practice with running. And carrying him places." she appealed.

It only took them two minutes to finish preparations. It was decided that Apollo was to carry the Doctor physically, and they were to disregard the stretcher and leave it here. Despite the nurse objecting that it could disturb the infection, Apollo retorted that the stretcher would only slow them down.

And so very gently, Apollo slung the unconscious man over his shoulder. The nurse eyed him, cringing as his friend swung loosely in Apollo's grip.

And then they took off in a sprint. Starbuck was in the lead. The ginger wasn't far behind. The marine was behind the ginger; the nurse behind the marine. Apollo was next to the nurse. The ginger was clutching the silver key in her hand tightly as they ran.

Apollo managed to keep up, despite having twice the amount of body weight pushing down on him as he ran. As suspected, there were Raiders overhead. They were halfway to the tiny ship when the gunfire started.

The marine – Larry – went down when the ginger was just a few steps from the door – Starbuck heard the splendid crack as a bullet dug itself into bone. Judging by the lack of screaming, it had killed him instantly. Starbuck was secretly glad for him.

The ginger seemed to act on auto-pilot when they reached the door. She pushed the key firmly into the lock, twisted it, and then pushed the door open, although the instructions said pull. Despite this, the door flung open and the ginger rushed inside first. Starbuck went in second.

She closed her eyes, expecting to run into a wooden wall, but instead she ran into a room considerably cooler than the surface of Kobol. She heard Apollo and the nurse stumble in behind her, and a Scottish brogue – the ginger – yelled at them to shut the door. Someone obeyed, as the gunfire from outside suddenly became muffled and seemingly distant.

Starbuck dared to open in her eyes. What she saw was something she hadn't expected – it was a circular shaped room; much, much larger than the exterior. Her logic was screaming at her that this was impossible. It was, as a matter of fact. How could a room so large fit into such a tiny blue box? She scrambled to her feet, searching for Apollo, and found him on the floor by the door. The Doctor lay next to him. She feared he'd been hit, but she registered him laughing whilst staring up the ceiling.

Starbuck looked around the room again, brushing her hair from her face, just in case it was obscuring her take on reality. She looked to the amused nurse and Scottish ginger. "How?" she asked. "How is this possible?"

The two didn't have a chance to reply, as Apollo, now leaning against the closed doors, exclaimed, "It's bigger on the inside!"


	9. Trust

_**A/N: Don't shun my recovery scene sklils... I have no self-confidence as it is. Q_Q**_

* * *

Amy and Rory didn't have a chance to elaborate to their two completely puzzled escorts, as the Doctor gasped into life from beside Apollo. His eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly, but then fell back to the floor, clutching his chest. Rory knelt beside him.

"Oh," he said faintly. "What happened? I don't –" He coughed. "– feel too well."

Amy and Rory exchanged glances. "You scared us." returned Amy slowly. She knelt down next to him also. "You're sick, but Rory's going to make you better." she assured.

Amy looked at Rory expectantly, relief shining in her eyes. Rory smiled gently in return, glanced to Apollo and Starbuck – who were both partly watching the Doctor and getting their head around the TARDIS – and then back to the Doctor.

"What happened?" he asked again, his voice rough. Rory laid a hand on the Time Lord's forehead gently as if to soothe him.

"Don't you remember?" Amy queried, this time choosing to answer him. Rory said nothing.

The Doctor's eyelids slid shut for a moment, but then they cracked open again and he managed a gentle shake of his head. "I – I remember a gun and – flashing colours – but –" He started to cough. He suddenly looked panicked. "The TARDIS. She –" the Doctor cut himself off. He blinked heavily. "The Zero Room." he stated. "It should be –" He winced, grunting ever so slightly. "– should be here. I need – the Zero Room." he repeated.

The Doctor's eyelids slowly closed again the hand on his chest went limp, falling to his side. Amy threw a panicked look at Rory. She scrambled to her feet, but her husband remained at the Doctor's side. He appeared to be trying to wake him up. Amy turned to Apollo and Starbuck, and they nodded before she could ask for their assistance.

Amy was about to take off to find the said room when Rory called, "He's more stable now." She paused and spun to face her husband, head titled. "It's the TARDIS." he concluded, flicking a glance to the console at the top of the stairs. "Do you think she'll help us find the Zero Room?" asked Rory.

"She?" Starbuck remarked. She was standing at the foot of the stairs. Apollo was halfway around the console towards the flight of stairs which led to the upper landing. "You mean this thing is alive?" she asked.

"I'll explain later." Amy dismissed. She looked back to the Doctor. "We have to find the room first." she said. Starbuck made a face, but Amy ignored her.

In the midst of her statement, Amy felt a familiar-yet-strange touch brush her mind. Although she didn't know, something told her it was the TARDIS.

"I'll stay," Rory alleged as she began to follow Apollo up towards the landing. "and when you find the room, yell, and someone come back and help me lift him." he said.

All three of them nodded and took off down the hallway on the landing together. They were halfway down the corridor when Apollo observed, "Is it marked, or something? All these doors are plain. There's no indication."

Starbuck halted at this, but Amy continued to walk. Apollo slowed his pace but didn't stop completely.

"I know where I'm going." said Amy. "It's down this corridor here. Starbuck, you've got the biggest mouth. Shout for Rory, would you?" she called as she turned the corner. A grin graced her face when she heard Starbuck call for her husband.

She found the door. The TARDIS had directed her to this corridor somehow. She couldn't explain it. But she knew it was here and there was no way the TARDIS would lie to her at a time like this. Apollo rounded the corner and approached her.

No one said anything until Rory and Starbuck came, carrying the Doctor between them, and entered the room. Amy was surprised to see it was an empty room; its design was exactly the same as the corridor outside. It was no bigger than a child's bedroom, but yet she knew this was the right place.

The three people behind her expressed their doubt and Amy retorted, "The TARDIS told me it was this room. She wouldn't be wrong... after all, it's _her_ we're waltzing around in."

Rory, after a moment's hesitation, grunted in approval. He and Starbuck set the Doctor down, and then much to everyone's surprise, the room took it upon itself to take the injured Time Lord into the centre of the room. The room then took on an eerie yellow glow, and Amy got the kicking sensation that the four of them were no longer needed.

"It's that easy?" Rory queried in disbelief. "There's got to be a catch... got to be. Nothing is ever this easy." he said.

"Come on." Amy expressed, ushering the other three back towards the door. "Maybe we should leave him for a little while," she suggested. "and then Rory can come back later and see if he's improved."

The nurse agreed to these terms, but Apollo and Starbuck seemed very far from convinced. Upon exiting, both companions were rather happy to see the TARDIS had placed the kitchen and somewhere to sleep close by. Both of them thanked the time machine and then proceeded to retire to the kitchen.

But both Starbuck and Apollo stepped in front of them. "Answers." Starbuck stated plainly. "_Right now_." Apollo nodded in agreement.

Rory held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said quickly. "we'll talk about it over some tea, yeah? Nice, British tea?" he suggested, adding in a smile just in case.

Starbuck looked at Apollo for approval, and he nodded. All four of them entered the kitchen and Rory began to make the tea. Amy sat herself down at the table with Apollo and Starbuck. It didn't take Rory that long to make four cups – he'd had plenty of practice, it seemed.

Apollo and Starbuck took them gratefully. It didn't them both long to finish them, either. Amy had only had a sip from hers, and Rory was the same.

Apollo set his mug on the table. "Okay," he began. "I want to know everything." he said.

Rory blinked. "Umm, alright; where do you want me to start?" he asked.

"The ship." Starbuck answered him.

"The TARDIS." Rory corrected. "Don't let the Doctor catch you calling her a spaceship." he warned, an awkward smile crossing his features as he finished.

"TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space." Amy took over – she'd already explained all this to Rory after their first adventure together in Venice. Her husband seemed grateful for the feat. "Yeah... it's a space-time ship." she confirmed, although their two escorts hadn't asked any questions. "She's bigger on the inside."

"A door to another dimension." Rory added.

Amy threw him a glance and then continued, "She's alive. Or from what the Doctor has said... we've both gathered she's alive." she said. "She's psychic – she showed me the way to the Zero Room before." She paused. "... I suppose that's it." she concluded. "About the ship." she added.

"How do you fly a tiny blue box?" Starbuck asked.

"It doesn't really, uh... _fly_." Amy replied – it seemed she hadn't satisfied either of them. She'd overlooked that aspect because she plainly didn't know how the ship actually worked. "It dematerializes. You must have heard it when you first came across us... It's a wheezing noise."

"I heard it." Apollo confirmed.

"So it's like jumping?" Starbuck continued. "You set co-ordinates and then off you go?"

Amy nodded rapidly. "Yeah, basically." she answered. "But it's almost impossible to fly. Only the Doctor can do it." she added.

"Who made it?" Apollo then asked. "I've never seen a ship like this before." he commented.

Amy and Rory exchanged glances. "The Doctor's race made it, I think." Amy answered. "You'll have to ask him..." she trailed off and made a face. "... when he wakes up."

Silence fell. Amy and Rory continued to sip at their tea. It appeared Apollo and Starbuck were digesting what they'd just been told.

After a few minutes, Apollo piped up, "And you two?" he pointed. "You're human?" They both nodded. "Back on Kobol the Doctor said he wasn't... a Time something?"

"Time Lord." Rory informed.

"He looks human." Starbuck commented.

"You look Time Lord." came the outworn retort from both companions.

Neither of them seemed phased by this. "The Cylons. Did the old man tell you about them?" Apollo continued.

Amy nodded. "President Roslin told me about the war." she replied.

"They look human now as well." Starbuck continued. "So we've come to question everybody we know – we don't know if the people around us are who they say they are." she said. "Three strangers who just happened to come across a confidential mission on an isolated planet in an isolated system are very likely to be Cylons." she said.

Amy sighed. "We're one hundred perfect human." she assured. "I don't know how many times I have to keep telling you that."

"How do we know you're not going to lead us into a trap?" Starbuck suddenly asked, her voice slightly raised. "That when your friend wakes up and gives us the co-ordinates... they're not into the middle of a sun or –"

"I trust them." Apollo interrupted her.

Starbuck threw him a glance. "You _do_? Oh, that's wonderful, Lee." she commented.

"Why should they lie, Kara?" he returned. "If they are Cylons... the Fleet would all be dead by now. They know the co-ordinates to where we are, and they've been in this... Time Lord ship and they've had every chance to submit them to a Cylon base ship." he said. "But they haven't." Starbuck opened her mouth to object, but Apollo cut over here still, "And why would the Cylon attack their own? Perhaps they could be rebels sure, but it wouldn't explain how they got this ship or their alien friend." he said. "There's a whole lot of mystery around this, sure, and even I'm questioning things in some places. But it's the best chance we have to find the Fleet somewhere safe to live." he concluded.

Starbuck grumbled. "What about the old man? And Roslin?" she queried.

"The old man trusts them." Apollo returned. "I'm not sure about the President, but I believe she's in it for the good of the Fleet." he replied.

_She didn't trust me._ Amy pondered to herself. _Then why was she trying to gain my trust?_

The look of realization and question must have been on Amy's face, as Apollo made a noise in the back of his throat while examining her expression. She sent a wry smile in his direction, and he returned it with a cock of his eyebrow and then a sideways grin as he turned to Starbuck again.

"These two –" He gestured to Amy and Rory. "– and I are going to grab some sleep." he said. "Stay awake for a while and keep an eye out." he said.

"I'll stay awake." Rory inputted. "I'm a nurse... it's easy for me to run on barely any sleep." he said. "And I'm sure both of you are tired from all the walking and running we've done these past few days." he claimed. Starbuck and Apollo seemed satisfied. "Nothing can get in," Rory continued, "so we'll be safe." he claimed.

"Alright." Apollo agreed aloud.

Amy, after a discussion with Rory about how she disliked waking up alone, reluctantly showed both their escorts to a room which included two beds – bunk beds. It made her snigger, but both of them seemed used to it. Rory kissed his wife goodnight and then made his way back to the Zero Room.

* * *

_**A/N: As a reviewer kindly pointed out... do all of you know what the Zero Room is? It's introduced in the classic series somewhere in Peter Davison's run. It's a room in the TARDIS that allows excellerated rest, thus making the person inside recover quicker. I described an 'eerie yellow glow', which I hope most of you know is regeneration energy. Regeneration energy mixed with the Zero Room will heal the Doctor, but it will take him a while to be 100% again. I hope that cleared things up. x**_


	10. Jump Start

_**A/N: Boo! I apologise for not updating. Since chapter nine I've watched four and a half seasons of Supernatural - in other words I'm completely hooked. It's all I've been doing, though I have typed a paragraph here and there. In reward for your patience I give you a chapter and a half. Why a half, you ask? Because I wanted to leave you hanging, that's why.**_

_**Now tsk tsk to me, but is the chapter where I confuse the hell out of everyone. But don't fear! I think (I **__**think**__**) I know what I'm doing. So enjoy, eh?**_

* * *

"We have a problem." Six claimed.

One looked to her. "What kind of problem?"

"They reached the ship. We've tried, but we can't get in."

One looked back to the screen in front of him. He shifted his hand in the control panel. "Hook up the Hybrid to the Centurions." he ordered.

"One –" she began to object.

"No." he interrupted. "Have the Hybrid assist in shutting down the machine. The Centurions can't do it alone." he ordered.

She nodded. "Who is he, anyway? The rest of us are all wondering." she then queried.

"He is the end, Six." he responded gravely.

She titled her head to the side slightly. "The end of what?" she asked.

"Everything."

* * *

Apollo was woken up by the room lurching. Not even half awake, he fell out of the bottom bunk with a surprised yelp. He had a habit of sleeping on the edge of the bed. Above him, Starbuck looked down, completely alert. He doubted she had slept.

"Are we under attack?" she asked.

The room lurched again. "My guess would be yes." Apollo replied.

They both sprang into action, wriggling into their gold and silver suits on the way out of the room. Amy met them in the hallway. She was dressed in a nightie.

"Does the ship have weapons?" Starbuck asked her.

The ginger shook her head. "No... no weapons. But nothing can get in." she assured. She rubbed her eyes. "We're safe here." she claimed. The ship lurched again, and all three of them grabbed onto the wall for support.

"Safe?" Starbuck echoed. "It's a frakking wooden box on the outside!" she exclaimed.

"Nothing can get through those doors." Amy repeated. "All the time me and Rory have been with the Doctor..." She trailed off and uttered a heavy sigh, rubbing her eyes again. "Just trust me, okay? _Nothing_ can get through those doors." she claimed.

"Why now?" Apollo then asked, changing the subject. "They've could have attacked us any time. Why _now_?"

Starbuck made a face. "How are we supposed to know? Maybe they had to call in more toasters." she suggested.

Suddenly the lights began to flicker. The three of them looked around as the lights became dimmer and dimmer, until eventually they were shrouded in darkness.

From next to Apollo, Starbuck produced a torch. She shined it right in Apollo's face. He put up a hand to block the harsh light. There was silence from the three of them.

"What happened?" Amy's disembodied voice asked in a whisper.

"They took the ship offline." Apollo responded. "Exactly the same way they took down the Raptor."

In the dim light, Apollo watched Amy's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and suddenly, just as her husband appeared from down the hallway, she asked in a quiet voice, "_All_ of the power?"

"Guys." The nurse tried to interrupt, but Starbuck cut over the top of him.

"Yeah. Weapons, shielding, engines... everything." she confirmed.

"And the Zero Room?" Amy questioned, flicking a glance to her husband.

The four of them exchanged glances then, Rory looking more frustrated than worried. He cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention. "I checked the Zero Room just then." he revealed. Everyone turned to look at him and he hesitated, but then said, "The Doctor isn't there."

* * *

The first thing the Doctor was aware of was pain. It was bearable pain, but it was still pain. He let out a groan as he rolled over onto his back – lying on his chest made it hurt even more. It was dark. Or did he have his eyes closed? He checked. Nope, definitely dark. The TARDIS was never dark.

The Doctor reached out to her with his mind but there was nothing to grasp onto. He looked around at the dark in confusion. What had happened? It was like someone had knocked out the TARDIS. He felt very lonely in his head.

He then shakily got to his feet. His chest was burning. He rested a palm against where the pain was, trying to soothe it, but it didn't seem to do any good. He found the door after searching for a moment and emerged into what he hoped was the hallway. Outside, he waited for his eyes to adjust. He could just see the outlines of all the doors along the corridor.

A wave of pain suddenly hit him. He grasped onto the doorway next to him to keep himself upright. He gritted his teeth as it eventually subsided. Where was Rory when he needed him?

He started down the hallway. He had one palm flat on the wall next to him and the other pressed against his chest. He knew the console room was nearby, as this was the corridor that had Amy and Rory's room in it – he had passed the door a moment ago (it had a distinct sign on it – "Two Ducks Live Here").

He continued to try and reach out to the TARDIS as he pulled himself along, but his calls were never answered by the time machine. It was a long stretch of time before he finally laid eyes on the console room, although the usually-vibrant one was dark and nearly forbidding. He had emerged on the landing, which meant he'd have to make his way down the stairs. The very thought made his chest ache even more.

The Doctor paused for a moment to gather what was left of himself at the top of the stairs. He transferred his weight onto the banister, wincing as it disturbed the pain, and then slowly moved his foot onto the first step.

"Doctor!" A Scottish brogue suddenly cried.

Two sets of hands pulled him away from the stairs and into a tight hug. He let out a cry of pain at the sudden movement. What he knew were Rory's hands checked his chest, and Amy's hands remained around his form. The TARDIS suddenly shook, but Amy kept him from falling over.

He looked up at her, only just summoning the energy to lift his head. She looked relieved. "What's going on?" he croaked.

"The Cylons took the TARDIS offline somehow." She looked back and the Doctor followed her gaze. There were two people standing there, observing their exchange with disinterested expressions. Amy looked back at the Doctor. "Are we going to be safe with the power gone?" she asked.

He let his eyelids slide shut for a moment, before taking a deep breath and opening them again. "No – they can get through the doors with enough force." he replied feebly. He looked towards the direction of the doors, studying them for a moment. "I need to get the power back online." he alleged.

"You're in no state to do anything." Rory's voice told him sternly.

"Too bad." he responded quietly with a hint of amusement. "Help me down the stairs?" He looked at Rory. The nurse rolled his eyes. "Please?"

It didn't take long until everyone was standing by the console. The Doctor was leaning on it, caressing the metal as he pulled himself towards the set of stairs around the other side. Rory followed his every move closely, whereas Amy was waiting at the foot of the other flight of stairs.

Again everyone descended the stairs together. The two unfamiliar people looked at the mass of wires in awe, shining their torches over them. The Doctor half-fell; half-leaned into the hammock that was still there from the last time he'd been down here. He gestured for one of the strangers to hand them their torch. He received one and shone it around the wiring.

"Nothing's amiss." The Doctor announced after his examination.

Another wave of pain hit him and he lost his footing on the TARDIS floor. He was caught by unfamiliar hands before he hit the ground. He winced as he was pulled back to his feet, mumbling a thanks when he could speak.

He knew the Ponds were going to object, and so he said, "I'm fine. I think... I think I can jumpstart the TARDIS and get us out of here."

"You can't leave." An unfamiliar male voice said. "It's the old man's orders that you stay here."

"If we stay here," The Doctor turned towards the voice, discovering it to be the same man who caught him. "whatever's out there will just shut down the TARDIS again. They _will_ get through those doors and then we'll be in big trouble." he explained.

The man and the Doctor stared at each other for a moment. The man then turned away in defeat. The Doctor paused for a moment and then turned around so he was facing the whole group. He held up the torch. "Do you mind if I take the battery?" he asked, not being sure who the owner was.

"If I get it back." A female voice returned.

He nodded in the same, vague direction. "You will." he confirmed. He then looked to Amy. "There's a big, blue wire over there." he said, nodding towards the mass of wires. "You should be able to disconnect it." He cringed as another wave of pain hit him, though he kept his footing this time. "Bring one end over here." he ordered from between gritted teeth.

Amy did as she was asked. Rory looked over worryingly. "Is there anything we can do?" The nurse eventually asked, gesturing to the man and the woman also.

The Doctor thought for a moment, his eyelids sliding shut. He then nodded weakly. "Go back upstairs. You know the flight panel?" he questioned. Rory gave him a condensing look. The Doctor blinked in response, thinking for a moment longer. "The typewriter..." He trailed off, looking around the room for inspiration. "The blue lever on the bottom right of the typewriter – if it's down, pull it up. If it's up, tell me." he commanded.

Rory and the man turned to do what the Doctor asked. He was going to stop the unfamiliar man from going with Rory, but it appeared the nurse trusted him. The woman stayed rooted to the spot, watching the Doctor curiously. He smiled at her faintly, but she offered no response.

Amy came then, carrying a thick, blue wire. The colour was easy to see in the dark. The Doctor took the wire into his hand with the battery in the other.

"It's up!" Rory called from upstairs.

Amy eyed the Doctor. "What is?" she asked.

"Lighting control." he responded. "Which means the TARDIS hasn't been taken offline... it means Sexy has." he concluded. Rory's head appeared at the top of the stairs. The Doctor gestured for him to come back down, as his brief work was down. The man followed him.

He then continued work with the battery and the blue wire. "I should still be able to jumpstart her." He spoke mainly to himself, although he knew everyone was listening. "Like... splashing ice water on an unconscious person."

He pressed one end of the battery into his thumb and then the other to the open end of the wire. He then carefully centred some of his energy into the end of his thumb, and then transferred the energy into the waiting battery and through to the blue wire (which was the TARDIS's central nervous storage). He assumed giving a little burst of energy to her 'mind' would stimulate her back into life again, and he hoped he was right.

He waited a moment; all of them did.

Then the TARDIS suddenly burst into life. The lighting came back online, as did the TARDIS herself – the blue wire sparked. Simultaneously, the Doctor collapsed against the hammock, for he had been using it to keep himself upright before. Rory was by his side immediately, asking what was wrong, but he dismissed him with a grunt and hauled himself to his feet with a painful wrench.

"Doctor –" Amy objected as well.

"I'm fine." he dismissed again, interrupting her. "I need to get us out of here." he then stated.

He saw the man exchange a glance with the woman, uttering a word or two, but he had reasoned with him before as to why they needed to leave. Both Ponds objected again, but he changed his statement to a demand.

He was helped back up the stairs and soon was circling the console at a slower pace than normal. He ensured the randomizer was turned off as he passed it. He was about to start the dematerialization sequence when the lights began to flicker around the room. Amy tossed him a frantic glance, and so he threw up the final lever.

The TARDIS dematerialized. The Doctor fell into the nearest beige seat, wincing as the sudden movement caused his chest to hurt – the adrenalin had all worn off now. The pain was very, very real.

"Where are you taking us?" The man then questioned.

It seemed to be the question on everyone's mind, as all four heads were turned to the exhausted Time Lord. The TARDIS then landed with a thud. He looked around at the four people in the room. "Earth." he answered. "We're on Earth."


	11. Lords and Ladies

_**A/N: I ended the chapter in such a choppy way... please forgive me! Also, Lee's brother - is his name spelled Zac, Zack or Zach? I spelled it Zac, but I'm suspecting it's wrong.**_

* * *

Apollo wasn't sure what to think. The whole fleet had been searching for Earth for nearly a year, and this Doctor had bought them here in a matter of seconds. He was suddenly very angry at him for not arriving sooner; possibly even before the initial attack on the colonies. Perhaps he could have prevented it and they would still have their homes, their families and their lives. It would have saved so many people so much trouble; so much trauma. He let out a deep breath to calm himself, since Starbuck was giving him the 'why-are-we-waiting' look.

He gave her a smile in return, and then the two of them made for the doors in a run. Amy looked pleased as he passed her as he reached the stairs. He and Starbuck descended the stairs, ran the stretch between them and the door, grabbed the handle and pulled it right open.

Apollo closed his eyelids. The first thing that hit him was the smell. But it was not the smell he was expecting. The smell that hit his nostrils was death with a hint of seaspray. Confused, he opened his eyelids and was met with a sight he hadn't expected at all.

Before him and Starbuck was what appeared to be the remnants of some sort of building. Only two walls were standing, and they were covered in moss and slime. The roof was cracked into many different pieces to the left. Apollo then widened his focus, taking in the whole scene before him.

There was a beach in the distance, but many lone walls stood between it and where Apollo and Starbuck were standing, along with remnants of concrete poking up from the ground. Green moss and dark slime covered these ruins; exactly the same as the building in front of them. These ruins continued all the way down to the beach, for Apollo could see dots of black and green as he looked down to the sand.

He looked to Starbuck. She looked devastated. "I don't understand." she voiced. Apollo nodded in agreement. "This can't be Earth. It can't be." she continued.

She turned back to the TARDIS, striding back in to find the Doctor for an explanation. Apollo paused for a moment to take in the sight in front of him again, but then followed Starbuck back into the Doctor's ship.

Amy looked confused now as he passed her, giving him a strange look. She followed him with her eyes as he walked around the console to where the Doctor was still sitting. His head was rested on the railing behind him, and his eyes were closed. His breathing was deep and his form was rigid.

Starbuck looked incredibly tense, but also incredibly desperate and angry. Apollo silently decided it was he who was going to ask, though he too felt angry. Had the Doctor lied? Did he not know where Earth was at all? He cleared his throat, brushing aside his emotions, and the action jolted the alien back into reality. He examined them with weary eyes, blinking heavily.

"What?" he demanded, though it was spoken softly.

Starbuck answered before Apollo could. "You're frakking with us." she claimed.

He blinked again, shaking his head slowly. "I'm not." he returned. "This is Earth. I know the coordinates off the top of my head; I never get a digit wrong."

"You frakked something up." Starbuck continued further, for Apollo's response was again too slow. He was going to tell her to watch her language with him, but she added under her breath, "Frakking motherfrakker."

He scolded her with a condensing look instead. "Could you run a scan, at least?" he suggested politely.

The Doctor laughed. "Earth isn't dangerous. The low level radiation they have isn't even enough to harm a fly." he claimed.

"Doctor." Amy's Scottish accent suddenly interrupted their exchange with a sharp remark. The man straightened up in the seat, wincing as he did so, looking for his fire haired companion. Apollo looked to her also. She was standing at the door, looking out. Her expression was very similar to the one she had given Apollo as he returned into the TARDIS. "They're right – this isn't Earth. This... it looks like a bomb went off." she described.

The alien sprang up in his seat then, letting out a hiss of pain. He limped towards the door, grasping onto the railing for support to drag himself along. He descended the stairs by himself, though Apollo watched him closely. Starbuck was already at the door, looking out to the ruins next to Amy and her husband.

The Doctor and Apollo eventually joined them, for he had trouble completing the stretch by himself. Apollo watched the Doctor's face. His immediate reaction was shock, but it immediately turned into puzzlement. His eyes scanned over the moss coloured pieces of buildings before he turned around and rushed back to the console. His speed surprised Apollo, for a moment ago he had struggled to keep himself upright.

He decided to follow the Doctor, whereas the other three remained at the door. "I don't understand." The alien was muttering as he circled the console. He pulled a computer screen around, played with the console some more, and then scan results appeared on the monitor almost instantly. "I set the coordinates right... I never get them wrong. Unless Sexy took a detour—" He kicked the console then. "—but you love Earth, dear. Why would you take us here?" His eyes skimmed over the scan.

Apollo moved in next to him and did the same. The alien didn't seem to notice, though Apollo assumed he just didn't care. It's not like he knew how to mess it all up, anyway.

"Oh." The Doctor suddenly uttered. "Oh. Oh... oh dear." He left the computer screen and made his way around to the other side of the console.

Apollo continued to read the scan despite this. At the top it read: '_Earth – planetary orbit coordinates 033781042*56° relative to approx. centre of galaxy'. _A new line started. '_Planetary title relative to Caprican beliefs of the Thirteen Lords of Kobol – Earth is the thirteenth and final colony of the thirteen colonies of Kobol. SOL3 – Earth – is not associated with Earth-033781042*56°.'_ He didn't have the time to make out much more, for he was a slow reader and the Doctor pulled the monitor away from him again before he could start the next line of the scan.

"I got the coordinates wrong... How did I get the coordinates wrong? I _know_ what I typed in." The Doctor continued to mutter as he squinted at the monitor. He then looked up at Apollo. "Your beliefs—" He was stopped as it appeared another wave of pain hit him. He sagged against the console and lost his footing, crashing to his knees.

Apollo helped him up. He hissed in pain as he was eased back to his feet. "You alright?" he asked him. The alien managed a nod. "You were going to ask about the Thirteen Lords of Kobol, weren't you?" he assumed, and the Doctor nodded again. Apollo began to explain, "The Thirteenth Colony – Earth – is a children's story. Supposedly. Your scan said—"

"I don't care about what the scan said." interjected the Doctor from between gritted teeth. "What does your beliefs say about—"Again he stopped, wincing and letting out a groan. He gathered himself and tried again. "What do your beliefs say about the colony being destroyed?" he asked.

"Nothing." Apollo answered. He felt the looming presence of someone behind him, and he automatically knew it was Starbuck. "Like I said – a children's story." he repeated.

"How does the children's story go?" The Doctor asked in an irritated tone.

Rory suddenly materialized next to the alien, gently pushing him back over towards the beige seat. He collapsed into it with a grunt. He looked back at Apollo, and then to behind him – he knew Starbuck knew the story better than he did. Neither his Dad or his Mum had told him the story as a kid – his Dad, the 'military man' was too caught up in work. His Mum always claimed she had better things to be doing.

He had found out about it when Zac bought home the story from school in children's book form. The two brothers had read it together before bed, for the artwork on the front cover had interested Lee as well as it had Zac. He remembered it had been a worn book, but the image was still very clear. It had been yellow, red and blue swirling around one another. He had just liked the pattern, but it turned out he had liked the story too.

It was Starbuck who recited the story in the end, for Apollo was too deep in reminiscing.

"The Lords of Kobol had twelve children. These children had children. The Lords, the Lords' children and the children's children lived in peace on Kobol in the City of the Gods until the exodus.

"The exodus bought turmoil on Kobol. During the turmoil, the Lords' children created another child; a different child to the other twelve Lords' children. This child was not made of flesh like themselves – this child was not human. The Lady Athena threw herself off a cliff out of shame for her children's' creation, for it was not what they had intended for them to create.

"The Lady Athena's death provoked the other Lords of Kobol to banish the inhuman thirteenth child. This child was exiled. The child found a distant planet they named Earth. The Lords did not know where Earth was, but the thirteenth child left them with a difficult path to follow to find their inhuman child again.

"The remaining twelve children left Kobol with their children, as the Lords began to wreak havoc on their children and their children's children for Athena's death; they began to destroy the City of the Gods and Kobol below. The twelve children became the twelve colonies: Geminon, Canceron, Picon, Sagitara, Leoian, Libran, Virgon, Aquaria, Aerilon, Tauron, Scorpio and Caprica. The twelve children's' children became the human race.

"The inhuman thirteenth child and their children still wait on Earth for their parents and siblings to return for them."

* * *

_** A/N: I apologise for the terrible children's story! It was pieced together with the help of the BSG Wiki, hehe. I'm well aware it doesn't exactly flow with canon, but you see that thing in caps at the start of the story description? You see it? Yeah! (It also means I can kill any characters I want... but let's not talk about that yet, eh?) Also, those coordinates? Made 'em up. If you ever sit in the TARDIS or any other spaceship with an FTL drive and think about trying them out - don't. They will not lead you to the thirteenth colony.**_

_**Also, if you're curious as to why they ended up at the thirteenth colony and not SOL3 Earth... let's just say there's a higher power at work here ;) And no, it is not Sexy playing with the Doctor's head! Just because... well... why not? I like mystery. I'm not good at writing it, but that still doesn't stop me from putting it in. Well... oh, okay. Forget it. If you really want to know how I'm going to account for the little things - like the TARDIS's habit for putting the Doctor in key places in the BSG universe - you can ask very nicely and I'll see if I'm feeling nice enough to answer you. I probably will answer you, though I suspect my answer will be very difficult to write into the story.**_

_**I'll be quiet now. Sorry. x**_


	12. Doubt

_**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm having trouble posting up this chapter... if you're reading this then it's working, hurray! Sorry for all the email spam, too.**_

* * *

After the tale from the blonde – who the Doctor had later learned to be nicknamed Starbuck – all four humans and the one alien had decided to leave the wasteland outside. It was decided they would reside in the vortex instead.

"The time vortex!" the Doctor announced to the room whilst piloting the TARDIS to the said destination. "A sort of... limbo between matter and... well, no matter." he attempted to explain. "It's safe – nothing can get to us without knowing pretty much our exact coordinates. The time vortex is the biggest thing in the universe." He paused for a moment, considering something. "Actually, no; it and the universe are the same size." he corrected himself. "Just... well... I don't know how to explain it." he admitted after fumbling for more words.

Everyone in the TARDIS had just given him blank looks. He rolled his eyes at them, and then winced as he rode another (smaller) wave of pain.

"What about Earth?" Starbuck then asked. "It's meant to be our future home... but it's just a frakload of ruins." she pointed out.

"You can't live there – the radiation levels are too high." The Doctor responded. "All the food and water you'd find would be contaminated. And you wouldn't have the energy to make your own."

"A nuclear war?" Apollo pondered aloud.

"I'd say so, yes." The Doctor confirmed.

"They were advanced like we were... to rein that much destruction to make the entire planet inhabitable." he continued to muse verbally. He then looked to the two Ponds. "You said you live on Earth." he stated.

Before they could answer, the Doctor cut in. "There seems to be two." he returned. "There is yours – the Caprican one. And then there's SOL3, which is where the Ponds live." he said.

Apollo and Starbuck digested this fact for a moment. It was Apollo who continued to shoot questions. "Do you know what happened to our Earth?" he asked.

"I don't know; I really only know as much as you've told me." The Doctor responded. "I'll look into it later. Right now I –" He yawned in mid-sentence and took a moment to continue. "Right now I'm exhausted." he finished this time.

Amy threw him a glance, as did Rory. "Are you going to be alright?" The ginger asked.

"I'm fine! A little sleep should do the trick and I'll be as good as new." he grinned in return. He winced as he spun around to make his way to the stairs. "No Cylons should get us here. We'll be safe." he repeated again. "If something goes direly wrong, don't go fiddling with the console, either! Sexy will sort herself out. And if it's urgent I'll come down and fix it." he said.

He began to pull himself up the stairs, all four humans watching him closely. When he reached the top, he turned (and winced) to do a mockery salute and then disappeared into the hallway. However, he remerged a moment later, his facial expression reading something close to realization.

"Apollo, could I... talk to you for a moment?" he asked. The pilot nodded, taking the steps two at a time to join the Doctor. The Doctor took him into the hallway. "I saw how they disabled the TARDIS. The Cylons." he revealed. "I think I can give them a taste of their own medicine." he continued. "Possibly for a good. We'll have to see. I should have all the resources here," He looked around the corridor. "but perfecting it will take time. A lot of time." he said.

The pilot smiled widely at the alien. "For good?" he questioned.

He nodded. "They are machines, aren't they? Every machine has a power switch." he pointed out.

Apollo let his mouth hang open in a grin. He clacked his tongue. "I... I just don't know what to say. We've been at war, on the run for almost a year. We lost everything. And then you come along with the answers to all our problems." he said. "It's like God intended for you to land on Kobol." The Doctor didn't respond; only kept his gaze on Apollo. "Thank you." The pilot concluded with another wide smile.

* * *

Starbuck hadn't even spent more than an hour in the Doctor's presence and she already disliked him. Sure, he was the Fleet's 'salvation', but in no way did that make him God. Even the old man trusted him, and it took a lot to him to even look at you these days. He conveniently got himself shot by the only rational Cylon the Fleet had met, and that Cylon wasn't saying much about him.

It made Starbuck wonder. What if he _was_ a Cylon? Heck, those toasters had managed to wipe out twelve planets in a matter of days and decrease the human population to not even 50 000 people. They surely had the means to conjure up this 'TARDIS' to trick the Fleet into trusting them.

Even Apollo seemed to have his full trust in the man – if he even was a man. He claimed to be an alien. Even that was new in humanity's books, not to mention the ship.

The two people who travelled with him were also getting on his nerves. They were so lovey-dovey; so perfect; so carefree. Starbuck envied them.

Starbuck had gone for a stroll around the corridors nearest to the piloting room after their Cylon problem had been resolved. She didn't want to be around the three strangers and Apollo at the moment, but somehow Lee found her anyway when she was outside the kitchen they were in before.

"Kara!" he called. He sounded excited.

She spun to face him, as he was running down the hallway from behind her. "What?" she called in return.

He caught up with her, panting, and then gave her a big smile. It annoyed him. "The Doctor, he –" He paused to settle his breathing. "He can get rid of the Cylons." he said.

Starbuck narrowed her eyebrows at Apollo, huffing in annoyance. Lee really did worship the man. He could easily be lying to gain their trust in an ultimate plan to destroy the Fleet from the inside.

"Oh really?" she questioned.

He nodded. "He saw how they disabled the TARDIS–" The name sounded so familiar on Lee's lips. "—and he reckons he can do the same to all the toasters. Permanently." he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't it all seem a bit weird to you?" she asked.

Apollo's smile faded. "I know you don't trust him, Kara." he said. "But he's our best hope." She heard the unspoken '_only _hope' on the end of his sentence.

"I know – you screwed it into my frakking skull just before." she returned. She knew throwing insults left and right at the Fleet's new 'salvation'' wouldn't get her anywhere decent, and so she changed her tactics. "Something feels very, very bad about this." she commented. Apollo gave her a curious look. Starbuck sighed irritably. "Okay, just forget it. Don't come crying to me with your tail between your legs later." With that, she turned and marched away.

* * *

"Lord of Time; Destroyer of Worlds; the Oncoming Storm – he is the end of everything. End of the line. End of the line. Lord of Time; Destroyer of Worlds; the Oncoming Storm – he is the end of everything. End of the line. End of the line."

Six appeared in the corridor. "Still?" she questioned plainly, giving a vague nod to the Hybrid.

One shifted his position on the chair so his chin was resting heavily in his hand. "Still." he confirmed.

"Lord of Time; Destroyer of Worlds; the Oncoming Storm—"

"How long now?" Six asked.

"Ever since the ship left Kobol's surface." One tapped his wrist. "An hour."

The Hybrid paused in its mantra for a moment. One and Six looked to it curiously. And then it continued. Both Cylons sighed.

"We've got a One on Caprica with the resistance." Six then reported.

"I am aware." One returned.

Again the Hybrid paused. One and Six again looked at it. And then it continued its mantra again. Both Cylons gave it a venomous look.

"The Threes suggest we through with their original plan." Six continued.

"And the others?" asked One.

"The Twos oppose and the Fours have yet to decide." responded Six. "The Twos express it would be best to keep our identities—"

"Send them my confirmation – they may proceed." One interrupted.

Six paused for a moment. "I will inform them." she said.

The Hybrid quieted again. Both Cylons in the room didn't take any notice this time. It stayed silent for a long while, until the Six got up to leave.

"A spark of God's fire; a piece in the Plan; the harbinger will be the end to the End. End of the line for the End. End of the line. End of the line. The End will see the Five; the curtains shall rise on the night of the Opera. End of the line."

Beat.

"A spark of God's fire—"

One and Six looked at the Hybrid and then exchanged glances.

"—the harbinger will be the end to the End. End of the—"

"The Five?" questioned Six.

"—see the Five; the curtains shall rise on the night of—"

One pursued his lips. "Call a meeting with the others." he commanded.

Six got up to leave. One lingered for a moment, watching the Hybrid's lips move on its emotionless face, and then followed the Six.

He could still hear the new mantra echoing in his mind as he walked down the hallway towards the board room.

_A spark of God's fire; a piece in the Plan; the harbinger will be the end to the End. End of the line for the End. End of the line. End of the line. The End will see the Five; the curtains shall rise on the night of the Opera. End of the line._


	13. Time Gone Awry

"Did he say anything else?" Amy asked Apollo.

The four people aboard the TARDIS were sitting in the console room – Amy and Rory entwined in one another on one of the beige seats, Apollo on the stairs and Starbuck leaning onto the console, staring up at the ceiling. She wasn't participating in the discussion at all.

"No." Apollo answered, shaking his head slightly. A smile quickly rose to his lips. "But he can do it, right? Get rid of them?" he questioned expectantly.

Amy and Rory exchanged glances. It was Amy who looked away first. She examined Apollo for a moment before nodding and assuring him, "I think so. He's done it before – save people from machines and stuff."

Their glance hadn't been more for a second or so, but one phrase had come to Amy's mind immediately; _Rule one – the Doctor lies_. Would he lie to these two? From the brief discussion she'd had beforehand about these Cylons and the Twelve Colonies, she had come to terms with the fact that defeating the Cylons was a very serious matter for these people. Whenever the name was spoken something would flicker in everyone's eyes – whether it was determination, regret and sadness or just pure anger – Amy could tell it was a big deal to them.

The machines had destroyed their lives; basically everything they ever loved. However, the Cylons had been created by man itself... so was it their fault? Amy didn't know. It had been the machines who had rebelled, and yet it was the humans who had pushed them too far. It was a complex dilemma nevertheless; one of which Amy Pond would rather stay out of for the time being.

"You say that that so casually." Apollo commented. "So he saves people all the time?" he went on to ask.

Amy nodded. "Yeah. Even rebooted the universe once." she grinned. Apollo furrowed his eyebrows and Amy laughed. "It's a long story." she assured, dismissing the story with a wave of her hand. God, did that make her feel like the Doctor.

"How long till he gets better?" Starbuck suddenly inputted. Her gaze was still fixed on the ceiling.

Rory took it as his cue when Starbuck looked at him, something scary flashing in her eyes. "Um, I don't know." he responded. "He... uh... maybe a couple of days? Even a week?" he suggested feebly.

Starbuck uttered a heavy sigh and went back to staring at the roof. Amy made a face at Apollo, and the pilot simply rolled his eyes.

* * *

When Rory entered the console room two mornings later, a man in tweed was standing at the console. He was fiddling with all the leavers and switches, apparently completely oblivious to the nurse's presence.

Checking the console room had become a habit for Rory ever since the Time Lord had disappeared into the TARDIS three days ago. No one could find him or at least a place close to where he was resting. But they'd let him be, for it was peaceful in the vortex and it was safe. Apollo and Starbuck had caught up on sleep and Amy and Rory had just... well... mingled. It was interesting conversing with the two viper pilots when they were awake. When they were asleep, books were read and chess games were had.

But whenever Rory got a free moment he would check the console room because he knew it was where the Doctor would come once he woke up. He would want to check on the TARDIS – the ship was his everything, after all. The nurse wanted to check up on him because the bullet hole in his chest surely couldn't have healed in not-even-a-week.

Rory cleared his throat. The Doctor, provoked, spun around to find the source and his eyes laid on Rory at the top of the stairs. The tired eyes from before were gone and had been replaced with expectant, bright ones. The flicker of age was also there, but it wasn't as obvious.

"Rory!" The Doctor exclaimed happily. "Just the man I wanted to see!" He beckoned the nurse over with a frantic hand as he fixed his attention on the TARDIS once again.

Rory obeyed and joined the Doctor at the console. "What?" he asked.

The Doctor pulled around the monitor for Rory to see. He examined the screen for a moment before tapping something on the console. The screen changed and a scan appeared. The Doctor pointed to the top bit in particular.

Rory squinted at the writing. "What?" he repeated.

"You know when we first landed on Kobol?" The alien began, shutting off the screen as he pushed it away. Rory nodded. "And I said we've only travelled a few decades into your future?" Rory again nodded, but this time slowly. "Yes, well, I lied." he admitted.

Rory blinked. "What do you mean you _lied_?" he questioned.

"Right now? We're... we're before before Christ. We're in the stone age." The Doctor said.

Rory didn't blink this time. He digested the information for a moment. "Okay, _what_?" he queried eventually. "The _stone_ age?"

The Doctor clacked his tongue. "And there's spaceships, Cylons and everything in between running around." he said. "But it's strange... their arrival on Earth. It's a fixed point. It _has_ to happen." he then added.

Rory again digested this piece of information. "You mean we're _descended_ from these people?" he questioned loudly.

"It appears so." returned the Doctor with a nod. "And there definitely aren't any Cylons around in the Stone Age, so I do defeat them." he added. "Problem is..." He pouted. "I don't know how."

"But you said..." Rory trailed off as he realized his mistake.

The Doctor nodded slowly. "I mean, I _can_ reverse their disability affect – the TARDIS stored the technique. But do you know how hard it'll be to get it right?" he asked. "I can use the TARDIS to transmit the thing universally, but... but to get it right so it hits the machines in all the right places..." He trailed off, knitting his eyebrows together. "It's like jumping from a plane and trying to land on a pin." he compared.

"Very difficult." Rory translated.

The Doctor nodded yet again. As he leant over to reach something on the other side of the console, Rory noticed his bowtie was askew. It reminded him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine." The alien replied simply, completing his task on the other side of the console and returning back to his original position.

"Right." Rory said doubtfully. "Let me see your chest." he then demanded.

"I'm fine, Rory. Absolutely fine. It's healed over." he assured. "The blood poisoning—" Rory hadn't told him about that, so who had? "—has just about cleared up. I'll be absolutely fine. Stop worrying about me." he dismissed.

"It's sort of my job." Rory added in.

"I'm the Doctor; you're the nurse." The Time Lord retorted.

Rory sighed heavily. "Please, just let me see." he asked politely.

"It's fi—"

"_Doctor_."

The alien mimicked Rory's sigh, took off his tweed jacket, and began to unbutton his shirt. He shrugged the material off and his chest was revealed. Where the bullet hole had been, there was now a white scar. There was bruising around said scar, but it was nothing major. Protruding from the dark purple bruises were deep red lines that were bright in comparison – blood poisoning.

"It's still not fully healed." Rory observed.

"Like I said before – almost cleared up." The Doctor repeated and then quickly put his shirt back on. "Sexy's got it under control, haven't you, dear?" He looked up at the time rotor. Rory looked over doubtfully but he knew the TARDIS wouldn't let the Doctor die.

That was Rory's cue to change the subject. "So, uh. Spaceships in the stone age, hey?" he asked.

"Mhm." The Doctor sounded his agreement. "I thought the readings were a mistake at first, so decades just came out of my mouth and as decades it stayed." he explained.

Rory was going to continue, but was interrupted. "Doctor!" He heard a distinctive Scottish accent call, and soon enough there were two arms wrapped tightly around the Doctor at the console.

The alien smiled down into the ginger hair. "Pond!" he returned likewise.

Amy gave Rory a huge smile before pulling away and looking at the Doctor. She expressed her concern, asked if he was alright, and soon enough it was the two viper pilot's turns to.

"Hello!" The Doctor greeted them both brightly. He then paused for a moment and reached into his tweed jacket pocket. He pulled out a large battery and handed it to Starbuck. "Almost forgot." he stated with a small smile.

The blonde didn't respond – just took the batteries from his palm and slipped them into her pocket. The Doctor blinked at her and then turned to Apollo.

"Are we going back to Galactica now?" The pilot asked. Starbuck perked up at this question.

The Doctor nodded. "That's the plan, yep." he confirmed. He began to pick at the console, and Rory assumed it to be in the piloting sequence. "The coordinates wouldn't have changed, would they?" he questioned.

"I don't think so." returned Apollo.

"Good."

The Doctor's slow piloting turned into more rapid movements, and soon enough he was circling the console. Eventually the time rotor began to move and they dematerialized to Galactica.


	14. Missing Explanations

_**A/N: I'm sorry for not updating in a while! I've been so busy with school and the free time I have had has been filled with swimming and Supernatural. This is actually all I've got written at this point in time, so the next update may be a while. It's only going to get worse from here on in with school. But enjoy, my dears! (And thank you so much for the twenty reviews! I feel privileged!)**_

* * *

"Sir, we have an unidentified contact on DRADIS." Felix Gaeta informed Colonel Tigh, who at the moment was in command of the CIC. The Colonel examined the DRADIS above his head, the contact catching his eye immediately. Mr Gaeta was typing away rapidly at his station. "Not a Colonial vessel, but it's not a Cylon ship either." he continued to report.

Tigh picked up the intercom at the side of the table. "Patch me through to the Commander's Quarters." he ordered, and then the black phone was at his ear.

"I've never seen readings like this before..." Mr Gaeta continued to comment, but the Colonel was already in conversation with Commander Adama.

"We've got a bogie on the DRADIS in here." Tigh was saying. He looked up at Mr Gaeta. "No, definitely not Colonial." He paused, listening. "What? It could be anything!" Again he paused., looking at the DRADIS above his head. "You're out of your mind!" he commented. He then sighed. "Yes, yes, okay." he grumbled and set the phone down.

"Sir?" Mr Gaeta questioned.

"The Commander will be up here soon." Tigh answered. "In the meantime, try and begin communications." he commanded, looking at Dee.

She nodded at his request, and then set to work at her station. Mr Gaeta went back to his work, though would mumble every so often about the strange energy readings the bogie was giving off.

"I can't seem to get through." Dee informed Tigh after a few moments. "Their communications... it's crazy." She pushed her headphone to her ear again, looking at Tigh. "It's just static, but there's also something else... like a voice." she tried to explain. "A consciousness, even." she added.

"In a communication line?" Tigh questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Get your head on straight, Lieutenant!" he barked at Dee.

She straightened, nodding timidly. "Yes, Colonel. Sorry." she apologised, quickly absorbing herself in something different.

It was then Commander Adama entered the CIC. The Corporal at the door saluted, and those at their stations straightened as he passed them.

"Have you been able to get through?" The Commander asked gruffly as he reached Colonel Tigh.

"No, sir." Dee responded.

All of a sudden, static began to sound over the speakers in the CIC. Everyone paused, even Mr Gaeta, and looked around the once-busy room. Commander Adama looked at Tigh questioningly, before Dee added quietly, "It's the same static from the communications line."

Tigh shot her a glance but didn't say anything. Underneath the static there was suddenly a buzzing noise, and almost immediately the static began to get quieter. Voices dissolved into existence over the speakers, but they were distant and hard to make out.

"_Is it working yet?_" A voice suddenly asked – Tigh could have sworn it was Apollo.

"_Don't rush me! I haven't used this in forever._" A new voice said. "_It would have been much easier if you got the coordinates right and we didn't end up in the middle of the Fleet!_" It exclaimed. "_Now they've probably got all their weapons trained on us._" It grumbled. "Weapons_ – what is it with them and the human race?_"

"_Let me do it_."

Yes, that was definitely Apollo's voice, Tigh decided. But who was the other person?

"_Galactica! Galactica, this is Apollo. Do you read?_" he called.

"Dee, sever connection the speaker connection." Adama ordered. He picked up the phone, gesturing to it. She nodded in understanding.

"_Galactica!_" Apollo's voice repeated – no one had answered him. "_Galac_—"

Adama raised the black phone to his ear. "—_is Apollo! Do you read? I repeat, _do you read_?_"

"This is Galactica actual." Adama returned into the phone. The people in the CIC were still watching the Commander closely. He gave a look to Tigh, and soon everyone had returned to their work at the sound of the Colonel barking orders left and right. "What the _hell _do you think you're doing?" Adama hissed into the phone once he was sure most people were again absorbed in their work.

The unfamiliar voice joined in. "_I was _trying_ to contact you, but it's been forever since I've had to hail another ship_." It huffed. "_Apollo mentioned the speakers, and, well... the TARDIS did the rest._" It explained.

Adama remained silent. Across the table, Tigh slowly picked up the other phone and raised to it his ear. Adama watched him over the top of his glasses.

"I take you're back on your feet again, Doctor." Adama commented eventually when the silence on the other end of the line got unbearable. "I'm glad." he said.

Tigh shot him a questioning glance, his brow creasing.

Someone began to speak, but there was suddenly the sound of whatever the microphone was being moved (or something moving past it) abruptly. Adama sighed almost inaudibly.

"_Let me do it!_" Apollo's voice cried.

"_It's my ship!_" The new voice – apparently named 'Doctor' – retorted.

"_He's my Dad!_"

There was silence for a moment, and then, "_It's still my ship!_"

A voice nearer let out a sigh, and then the two continued to argue in the background. "_Sorry_." A Scottish accent apologised for them. "_Boys and their toys_." It dismissed, laughing a little.

The arguing in the background continued for a moment longer, and it appeared neither Apollo or the Doctor were getting any closer to winning.

Adama decided to ask the Scottish woman; he had forgotten her name. "Are you having trouble landing aboard?" he asked.

"_No, no... we're fine_." she dismissed quickly. "_Apollo just got the coordinates wrong... yeah. Middle of the Fleet rather than on Galactica_." she recapped. "_Then they argued about whether to contact you or not, because Apollo said you might think the TARDIS is a Cylon ship_." she continued. The arguing ceased in the background all of a sudden. "_Oh, I think they've sorted it out_." The Scottish woman said.

There was more rustling on the microphone and then a heavy sigh, though it wasn't quite in range to be very noticeable. "_This is the Doctor! Hello!_" The Doctor's voice exclaimed. Before waiting for a response he went on, "_Sorry about that... had a little communications issue._" he explained as Amy had.

Adama didn't respond. Tigh looked up at him. He mouthed, "What?" at him in a seemingly harsh, unspoken tone, and Adama just averted his eyes to the DRADIS above his head. It showed the TARDIS flying very closely to Galactica.

"_Helloooo?_" The Doctor's voice called. "_Did I break it again?_" he thought aloud.

Adama looked down at his hand resting on the table. "No." he confirmed.

"_Now, uh, ah... do you want me landing somewhere discreet? Because coming in through your landing deck would look awfully suspicious._" The Doctor inquired.

Adama cocked his head, creasing his brow. "Jump? _Jump_ into the Galactica?" he questioned.

"_No no no... dematerialize_." The Doctor corrected. "_I can use the time vortex to land on your ship_." he said.

"Will it be safe?" The Commander asked. "I don't want you putting the lives of my crew in danger, and I _certainly_ don't want you damaging my ship." he stated.

"_Yes yes, it will be perfectly safe._" The Doctor assured. "_Where do you want me to land?_" he asked again.

The Commander gave him the rough location of a weapons locker that wasn't used very much, and assured him Apollo could get them in there as accurately as possible. The Doctor seemed satisfied with this.

"Meet me in my quarters afterwards. You and your two friends." he had commanded before the Doctor severed the connection. "Apollo will take you. Make sure Starbuck comes with you all." he added.

"_Sounds good!_" The Doctor had agreed, and then the static was back on the line.

Both Adama and Tigh set down the phones. Some people were watching them both from their stations, and again Colonel Tigh barked at them to get back to work. They obeyed. The Commander turned to leave again, but Tigh appeared at his side.

"You have some explaining to do." The Colonel claimed.

Adama's expression didn't waver. "So do they." he said. "I'm going to request to President to come back from Colonial One; you should be present too." he then continued.

Tigh kept a firm expression, though suspicion was very evident in his eyes. He hoped he would receive an explanation for all this at the Commander's quarters. Ultimately he followed Adama to his quarters where they both waited for President Roslin, the Doctor and his companions and Starbuck and Apollo. He suddenly got the feeling it was going to be a long next few hours.


	15. The Big Three

_**A/N: A short update for you all so I don't feel bad about not writing. **_

_**+ Some of you may be questioning Adama's trust in the Doctor, and really, you have every right too. They've been out in space for a year now, right? There's been no Pegasus (who may or may not come later), no happy endings and plainly... no hope. They didn't even know if Earth was real! The Doctor represents hope for them all... he's something solid to grasp onto, and really that's all Adama wanted. They've been clawing at what ifs for the past year and knowing something is true for a fact is probably like giving Adama back Zac.**_

_**I hope you understand what I mean. x**_

* * *

The Doctor entered Commander Adama's quarters followed by his two Ponds. Apollo came in behind Rory and Starbuck after Apollo. The Corporal at the hatch door shut it behind them all, the door itself making a satisfying thud as it closed.

The Doctor and the Ponds hesitated, whereas Apollo and Starbuck continued into the next part of the room. After a moment, the three followed the two pilots. Commander Adama was sitting at his desk apparently absorbed in paperwork, and there was a man who the Doctor didn't recognize leaning on the desk to Adama's left having a drink.

"Sir," Apollo greeted, causing Adama to perk up and notice the persons in his quarters.

"Captain," Adama returned likewise, sitting up straight in his chair, and then leaning back. "Lieutenant." he then greeted Starbuck.

There was a stiff silence; only glances were exchanged in the pause. The Doctor and the Ponds were subject to stares from both the unfamiliar man and Commander Adama, and Starbuck and Apollo were subject to stares from both their superiors. The Doctor was absorbed in the design of the quarters around him, and the Ponds... Amy was apparently, daydreaming; her gaze towards Apollo. Finally Rory was staring up at the ceiling trying to ignore this fact.

The hatch behind suddenly opened again and when the Doctor turned to examine their new guest, it was a red-headed woman. Her hair wasn't as fiery as Amy's, but it was indeed red.

"Madame President." Commander Adama greeted the new arrival, getting up from his seat to meet her in the hallway.

"Hello Commander." she returned his greeting with a warm smile. He led her to his desk and offered her his seat, which she took, and then her eyes were on the Doctor. Her brow furrowed. "I see you're well now." she commented.

Rory inputted, "Not completely."

The Doctor just nodded. "Feeling better, yep." he confirmed with her. "I don't believe we've met either." he then continued. "I'm the Doctor." he said, smiling.

"I'm Laura Roslin – President of the Colonies." she introduced herself, offering her hand across the table. The Doctor shook. "I've already met your friends. I understand you can show us the way to Earth." she continued.

The Doctor bit the inside of his cheek. "About that..." he began, looking around at the Ponds, Starbuck and Apollo. "We stopped off on Earth on the way here." he revealed to the superiors.

President Roslin's features lightened as the Doctor spoke, as did Commander Adama's and the other man's. Commander Adama, however, quickly reduced his soft expression to a glare.

"You were instructed to remain on Kobol." he reminded them all gruffly.

"We were attacked by the Cylons." Apollo butted in. "They managed to play with the TARDIS's mechanics and shut it off for a little while. If we would have stayed we would have been killed." he explained.

"If someone could explain to me what the frak is going on here –" The unfamiliar man interjected in a sharp exclamation, but was interrupted by Commander Adama.

"Saul." he warned. The man quieted, but there now a scowl on his features.

Commander Adama continued. "You were attacked by Cylons?" he questioned.

"Yes, sir." Apollo confirmed.

"What was it like?" President Roslin then asked, looking over the Doctor and the Ponds and then Apollo and Starbuck.

"We... ah... we actually ended up on the wrong Earth." the Doctor inputted. "Your Earth – the thirteenth colony." he explained. "It was destroyed." he said.

He watched the colour drain from all the superiors' faces. "Destroyed?" echoed Adama.

"Wrong Earth?" Roslin reverberated at the same time.

The Doctor answered the President first. "I entered the coordinates to the one where Amy and Rory live – SOL3 – and ended up on your one instead." he explained. "I don't know how." he added. "And yes, it was destroyed. It looks like it's been in ruins for centuries." he responded to Adama. "There's no sign of life there and I don't think will be for a long time. The place is a radioactive wasteland." he reported.

"So the thirteenth colony are dead?" questioned Roslin, just to confirm.

The Doctor nodded slowly; timidly. "Yes. I'm sorry." he apologized.

Roslin pursued her lips, hand resting on her chin. She didn't say anything more. Adama gave her a sympathetic look from his place beside her, and then looked back up at the Doctor.

"And the other Earth?" he asked.

He considered telling them how they were so out of his comfort zone right now – they had spaceships in Earth's _Stone Age_. Amy and Rory are descended from these people, as had all his other companions. It was bizarre, even to him, but he had to help them. It was a fixed point that they arrived on Earth, and fixed points had to happen.

"I'll help you get there, but your Cylon problem needs taking care of first." The Doctor responded. Adama narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything. "I think... I _think_ I might be able to get rid of them for you." he claimed.

Adama's eyes were now wide, his lips slightly parted. Roslin was now looking at the Doctor also, as was 'Saul'.

The Doctor took it as his cue to continue. "When the Cylons attacked us they got into the TARDIS somehow and shut her off for a little while. I might be able to replicate that effect and use it against the Cylons to shut them off too." he explained. "For good, I hope." he added with a small smile.

Adama tensed his jaw and then nodded at the Doctor. His shocked expression had completely disappeared – he was the Commander again. He offered his hand to the Time Lord. The Doctor took it across the table and Adama said, "Welcome to the Colonial Fleet."


	16. Blind Faith

_**A/N: Sorry for not updating! School's getting really chaotic and the likes. And yes, I went there. x**_

* * *

It was decided that the Doctor were to see Gaius Baltar about his proposed Cylon extermination, but before the Time Lord and his two friends could begin on their travels through Galactica he was stopped by Commander Adama.

"A word, please?" he seemed to demand, and the Doctor could do nothing but nod.

He told the two Ponds to wait by the door with Apollo (who was going to be their guide) and went to join the Commander at his desk. Colonel Tigh and President Roslin were still there, and both looked up when the Doctor and Adama approached.

"We currently have a Cylon aboard our ship." Adama revealed in a hushed tone. "The same one which shot you, as a matter of fact, but it is now contained appropriately." he said.

"She's a number eight." President Roslin butted in, and then followed with an amused sound. "Not that the number means anything to you." she mused, smiling a little. "Her name is Sharon. She's currently bearing a child with Helo, one of the viper pilots." she explained.

The Doctor titled his head a little, eying Adama and Roslin closely. "Why are you telling me this?" he inquired.

"You need a test subject." Adama said gruffly. "The number eight will be available–"

"You're not seriously suggesting I test it on a living person?" The Doctor butted in in disbelief.

"It's a machine." Adama pointed out.

"She looked very much alive to me." retorted the Doctor.

"Then how will we know your signal will work?" Roslin then pointed out. "Sharon is the only Cylon in our possession, and she isn't being very useful; the only reason we're keeping her alive is because she apparently helped Helo and Starbuck when they were on Caprica." she said.

"And Caprica's your home planet?" The Doctor asked, just to confirm.

"Was. But yes." President Roslin answered with a grim expression on her face.

The Doctor brushed his hand over his chin, looking around the room as he was thinking. "About Sharon, your Cylon, though," he began but the quickly stopped himself. He sighed. "I don't want to hurt her, but you're right; I'm going to need to test it." He bit his lip as he finished. "I don't know what to do." he confessed.

Adama seemed to be growing impatient. "Consult me when you've made your decision." he stated firmly. "We can't be staying here. You need to get to work." he claimed.

"Yes, yes. Doctor Baltar, wasn't it?" The Doctor questioned; glad for the subject change. He spun around so he could see the Ponds in the doorway near the hatch. He gave them a grin, and they both grinned back. "Apollo's taking us, I presume?" he inquired, not turning around to face the three superiors.

The pilot nodded and the three people behind him didn't answer. The Doctor clasped his hands together, approaching Apollo and the Ponds. "Well!" He finally turned around to face the three again. "It's been lovely meeting you three." he claimed, grinning. "Commander, wasn't it? And President Roslin!" he said.

Said Commander narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. Roslin just smiled warmly. "Yes. See you later, Doctor." she more dismissed than farewelled.

The Time Lord made a face, glancing about the Ponds. He caught Apollo's blank expression as he looked at the two of them. The pilot then said, "Come on." and he led the three out of the Commander's Quarters and into the hallways of the Galactica.

* * *

"So let me get this straight..." Colonel Tigh began as the four left. "You met some loony and his two friends on an uninhabited planet who just _happened_ to have a working spaceship? And then the loony gets himself shot by a Cylon who speaks complete but educated nonsense about him?"

"This loony happens to know where Earth is." returned Adama.

Tigh quieted for a moment, but then continued in a more harsh tone than before, "You're losing your head, Bill! He's a complete stranger! We don't even know if he's human!"

"He's helping us, Saul." Adama retorted. "He's helping the Fleet. He's helping this whole journey seem a little more realistic." he said.

"He could be trying to kill us!" snapped Tigh.

"He took Kara and Lee to what looked very much like the remnants of the thirteenth colony! Lee saw the planetary scan the Doctor has in his ship himself – he wasn't lying, Saul. He's _actually trying_ to help us!" Adama countered again.

"We still don't have all our questions answered." Roslin pointed out quietly.

"I don't understand your blind faith in the man." Tigh then added.

Adama sighed heavily. He rubbed his forehead, looking at his two friends in front of him. "I promised the Fleet Earth." he stated. "And I am bringing them Earth."

"By entrusting their lives to a _complete stranger_!" Tigh inputted, throwing his hands in the air.

The room was silent then. All three superiors looked at one another; Adama's expression was blank, Tigh's was cross between enraged and confused and Roslin's was judging.

Roslin broke the silence with a stiff sigh. "Are we done?" she inquired, pursuing her lips. "For I have a government to run back on Colonial One." she said.

"Yes, thank you, Madame President." confirmed Adama. "Do you need an escort–"

"I think I'll manage. Thank you, Commander." she interrupted and saw herself to the door. As she reached the hatch, she turned around and requested, "If the Doctor has any major developments in his... Cylon device then please contact me." She then promptly left, leaving the Commander and Colonel alone.

"I should head back to CIC." Tigh excused himself too, turning to leave.

"Saul." Adama said.

He turned back, a grim expression on his face. "What do you want me to say, Bill?" he began. "I don't trust him. You shouldn't either." he said.

Adama produced a bottle of liquor from his desk drawer, and then two glasses. He set them on the desk. "Sit down, Saul." he said. After a moment's hesitation, Tigh did as he was asked. "I understand your position." Adama began, pouring the liquor into both glasses. He took one and offered the other to Tigh. "But I believe we have more to talk about than just the Doctor." he then revealed.

Tigh downed his glass in one gulp and then wiped his mouth. "What?" he prompted.

"The Gideon Massacre." Adama stated, also downing his glass. Tigh's face fell, but he hid it behind setting his glass on the desk for a refill. "The President is growing concerned that we might lose control of the Fleet. It was all sparked by that, under your command, so I'm asking for your propositions to a solution for the issue." he explained.

Tigh leaned back in his chair. "I've tried apologizing; tried setting things right but I'm not exactly a crowd favourite, am I?" he returned.

"The President has suggested we allow a reporter onto the Galactica to show the Fleet we're actually all very much human." Adama then said. "Unrestricted access." he added.

"What about the Cylon? And your loony friend?" objected Tigh.

Adama narrowed his eyes. "They're both to kept secret." he said.

"Right." Tigh agreed.

Silence filled the room for a few awkward moments until Adama ultimately said, "Her name is D'Anna Biers. The President would like her presence on the ship to be approved by you and I as soon as possible."

"Have you approved it?" Tigh then asked.

"Not yet." Adama responded. "I wanted to hear your take on the matter first." he claimed. He then got up from his desk. "Send her the paperwork when you've finished." He produced a document folder out of his desk drawer and set it down in front of Tigh. "I have things to do." he claimed, and then promptly left, leaving Tigh by himself in the Commander's Quarters.


	17. Boom

_**A/N: To the readers who haven't watched BSG, because I suspect there are a couple, you will have absolutely no idea what is going on in this chapter. To those of you who do... I can never get Gaius in character! I apologize in advance! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews and the favourites and follows. You're all amazing. x**_

* * *

Gaius Baltar was listening to Head-Six. Well, only partly. She was going on about God's glorious plan; she had been at it since he'd made a mockery of it yet again by stating he could see no plan for himself.

"He will bring you to your full potential, Gaius."

Just keep on focusing on your work, he'd told himself. Just don't look up.

Gaius did just that until he felt the familiar touch of her hands on his shoulders, and soon enough they were around his waist.

"You're ignoring me, Gaius." she said. Her hands moved lower. "Do I need to remind you that I'm still actually here?" And her hands moved lower still.

Gaius swallowed. "I'm just very busy." he claimed.

He felt her hair tickle his neck as she looked up to see the contents of the desk in front of him. She didn't comment; instead she moved around to his left and leaned on the desk.

After a few minutes of silence, she said dramatically, "He's here."

Gaius looked up from his work, eying her curiously. "Who's here?" he asked.

"The end." she answered, her features narrowed into a scowl.

As if on cue, there were three raps on the hatch door. It made Gaius jump. Ignoring the blonde Cylon's gaze, he moved over to the hatch and opened it, revealing the face of Apollo and three others.

"Doctor Baltar." The pilot greeted, stepping aside so a man dressed in... was that tweed? The man in tweed (Gaius sniggered) stepped forward, giving him a big smile.

"Hello! You're a Doctor too! I'm _the_ Doctor, though. But it's kind of the same thing, right?" he asked, the stupid grin still on his face.

"Uh," Gaius returned.

He jumped as the Six materialized beside him. "Tell him to leave." she seemed to demand. He looked at her briefly, but then back at the strange man who had just entered his lab. "Tell him to leave, Gaius." she repeated, this time from between clenched teeth.

"I can't." he returned to her, for she had really begun to get on his nerves over these past few hours.

He was faced with four blank stares. "Oh." he voiced, swallowing. "I can't... I can't... uh, I can't have so many people in here at once." he said. "Maybe just... just Apollo and you." He pointed to the man in tweed. He swallowed again.

"Alright." The man in tweed agreed slowly, stepping into the small lab. He turned to his two friends and said something which sounded like, "Don't run off!" in a scolding tone and then proceeded further into the lab.

Apollo also stepped in. The two other people – a redheaded woman and a big-nosed man – remained outside but peered into Gaius's lab. The woman appeared more interested than the man did.

"So, Doctor Baltar," the man in tweed began, clasping his hands together. "I'm the Doctor. Not _a_ Doctor, as I said before, but I'm still _the_ Doctor." he explained.

He was conscious of the Six's presence beside him. "Hello." he greeted, and then swallowed. He didn't offer his hand or his greeting, however, as he didn't want to make the Six angry.

"The Commander tells me you know a lot about Cylons," he continued, "possibly how to disable one." he added after a pause.

The Six tensed. "Tell him to _leave_, Gaius." she repeated.

"I know a lot about them... yes." he confirmed. "But no, I don't know how to stop them." he said.

"You're aware of how their..." He trailed off, looking to Apollo. "The ships. Moon-shaped things." he worded, making big, stupid gestures with his hands.

"The Raiders." Apollo offered slowly.

"The Raiders!" The Doctor cried in what appeared to be glee. "The Raiders! The Raiders disabled my TAR– my ship." he explained. "And I was wondering if I would be able to replicate that and use it against them." he said.

"Tell him no." The Six said immediately.

"Uh..." Gaius began awkwardly.

"_Gaius_." she phrased firmly.

"No. I don't think so." he responded.

"If it was altered, though?" The Doctor continued, approaching Gaius with a curious expression on his face. "Because it shouldn't work on the Cylons when it's the original, obviously, because it'll disable their own ships." he said.

Gaius was aware of the Six's gaze on him. "Um, well..." He swallowed. "Maybe. It really depends –"

"Wonderful!" The Doctor exclaimed, interrupting Gaius. He was glad. "What about a transmitter? What do you recommend?" he asked.

"For what? The disability?" he questioned. The Doctor nodded. "Umm... I don't know? How many Cylons are you–"

"All of them." he returned immediately, a grin on his face.

Even Apollo seemed shocked at this. The Six even more, possibly. Gaius glanced to her and she looked horrified.

"Tell him no. Tell him he can't. It's impossible." she said.

Gaius swallowed again, looking back to the Doctor. "It would be impossible to disable all of them–"

"No such thing as impossible, I like to think. But just hypothesize. How much power would you need? Materials? The likes?" he interjected again.

"Maybe if you'd stop interrupting me I'd be able to tell you." Gaius returned with a scowl.

"Oh, right. Sorry." he apologized, smiling again.

"It'd be impossible." he returned, leaning towards the Six's demands. "You'd need... a lot of power. A lot more than we have in the fleet." he said.

The Doctor didn't even seem fazed. "How much more?" he questioned.

"A lot." Gaius responded after a pause.

"Basically you don't know." The Doctor translated; that stupid smile still on his face.

Gaius narrowed his eyes. "I can't do the calculations on the spot." he defended, crossing his arms over his chest.

Apollo stepped in them. "Would you be able to calculate the figures?" he asked Gaius.

"Don't." The Six warned.

"It'll take time..." Gaius returned, trailing off.

"_Gaius_." she nearly screeched, causing him to jump.

Apollo watched him curiously, as did the Doctor. "How much time?" The pilot asked slowly.

"It really..." He looked to the Six; her expression... if looks could kill, all in the room would be dead. "It really depends." he returned, looking back at the pilot. "I don't know how much energy it needs to make a single dis–"

"I have all the figures you'll need." The Doctor interrupted. "I'll get them to you as soon as I can." he claimed, that stupid smile half on his face.

Gaius scowled at him. He had decided he didn't like this man. "It will take some time." he warned.

"I'm patient." The Doctor claimed. Gaius heard the two people in the doorway scoff. The woman even laughed. The tweed man turned to face them. "Oi! You two! I'm not that bad!" he exclaimed.

The woman was still laughing. "You painted our fence, cut the grass and did who-knows-what with that football in an _hour_." she listed, and Gaius was surprised to discover she was Scottish.

But she was talking like she owned a house! With a fence! And _grass_. He let his memories drift back to his younger years as a farmhand, but they were quickly pushed back down into his subconscious again. Surely he'd heard the woman wrong?

"But I was waiting around at your house! Now... we're on an enormous spaceship with aliens and explosions and... and... exciting stuff!" returned the Doctor.

Gaius could imagine his ridiculous grin on his face as he spoke. But this disturbed him... this man, he–

"Thank you for your time, Doctor Baltar." Apollo suddenly said. "It's appreciated." he claimed, and then proceeded to bustle the Doctor out of the lab.

The man abided and quickly began conversation as soon as he re-joined his apparent-friends. Soon the hatch was shut again and Gaius was alone.

He looked to his desk and the Six was leaning against it, arms firmly crossed.

_Almost_ alone, he corrected in his head.

"What was all that about?" he asked her after a debate with himself. "I understand he's trying to destroy your race, but you're trying to destroy _us_!"

"He brings the end." she returned. "He is the end to everything. He is the end to us, the end to you and the end to Earth." she continued on. "His plan must be stopped at all costs. The end has already begun. We cannot let it finish."

Gaius took a shaky breath. "I take it he's not a part of God's... wonderful plan." he stated.

The Six snapped her full attention to him. "No." she returned with such authority he shivered. "He is not meant to be here. He wasn't here, once, and things ended differently. Things ended right. But now everything will change and the end will commence." she continued with her 'end' speech.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" Gaius asked suddenly, but immediately regretted it.

"Stop him! You were trying to _help_ him, Gaius! What about God's plan? Don't you want to bask in all His glory? Walk in His halls? I picked you, Gaius. You are the one." she said.

"Well I can't exactly say _no_, can I?" he returned in a hiss. "I'm supposed to be one of the good guys, not a Cylon sympathizer!"

He suddenly found himself on the floor, the Six on top of him. "_Destroy _him." she spat.

"_How_?" he returned in a shrill voice. "I'm not exactly _armed_, am I?" As he spoke, his voice rose.

As he finished, he realized what he was looking at – the nuclear warhead. He remembered requesting it from Adama a while ago, well, he remembered the Six requesting it from Adama a while ago. To this day, he still had no idea what he was supposed to do with it.

Six, still on top of him, noticed his gaze and followed it. She then looked back at Gaius; her expression wasn't as sour now.

He gave her a look; a questioning look. It was a _frightened, _questioninglook.

She just nodded.


	18. Impatience

_**A/N: So, who's still alive after the Mishapocalypse? And who liked the Bells of St John!? (Also, I haven't updated because I wrote a 17K word meta!Misha fic and it's been all I could focus on. I probably won't update for another few weeks, because writer's block is a bitch. I know what I need to write but it won't come out! So, as a result, pretty fluffy chapter. Nothing happens. Like the rest of them.) x**_

* * *

Commander Adama was distracted from his paperwork by the hatch across his quarters opening. He looked up, pausing his pen as he did so, and waited for the person to come into view.

It was Apollo.

Which would make sense, he mused, because he requested the Captain come down and see him over an hour ago.

"Captain." Commander Adama greeted, looking down at his paperwork again.

"Commander." Apollo returned likewise, skirting up to the desk he was currently sitting at. "You called for me?" he questioned, hands behind his back.

"Yes, I did." Adama confirmed. "Why you're late, though, I would like to know." he added.

"I can explain." Apollo claimed. "I was escorting the Doctor back to the TARDIS, and then I was needed on the hangar bay to see over Viper maintenance. The Chief had other things to worry about... one of the Raptors was having ventilation problems." he explained.

"And none of the other pilots could have done it for you?" Adama asked.

"No, sir." Apollo responded. "They're my Vipers. They're my responsibility." he said.

"You're lucky what I called you here to discuss isn't important, Captain." Adama then said, getting up from his desk. "Come and sit down." he invited, gesturing to the couch across the room. "Do you want a drink?" he asked the pilot before moving over himself.

"No, thank you sir." Apollo refused.

Adama grunted before pouring himself a glass, and then sitting down next to the viper pilot. "I want to talk about Earth." he told him.

"Which one?" The pilot asked immediately.

"Both of them." he replied.

Apollo paused for a moment, but then continued with, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know if you trust the Doctor and his claims." Adama requested. "Colonel Tigh and the President are sceptical. I am, too, but I don't see why he would lie to us." he said.

"I trust him." Apollo said immediately.

"Tell me why." Adama entreated.

"Because like you said; he doesn't have a reason to lie." Apollo responded.

"You're not concerned he may be a Cylon?" Adama questioned after a pause.

"I spoke with Doctor Cottle. He's not human, but he's not a toaster either. He's got two hearts." Apollo replied, now with evidence. "So I'm positive he's not a Cylon." he confirmed.

"But you had suspicions." Adama prompted.

"There are twelve models." Apollo pointed out. "The Doctor, Amy and Rory could easily make up the twelve." he said. "And no, Amy and Rory aren't Cylons either." he added quickly. "The Doctor showed me full-body scans of them both." he provided.

Adama took a sip of his drink. "We're working with humans." he summed up.

"And an alien." Apollo put in.

There was silence for an awkward few moments. Adama took a sip from his glass and Apollo stared at the painting across the room.

"Is he working now?" Adama then asked.

Apollo nodded. "Supposed to be." he said. "He's really extraordinary, you know." he commented. "You never would have thought he'd be a genius with that face, but he is." he said.

"Let's just hope his proposals are true and will work, shall we?" Adama questioned, and Apollo nodded. "Can you imagine it, though, Lee?" he then went on. "No Cylons... new planet. The fleet together. All saved." He smiled faintly, taking another sip of his drink. "All thanks to him. The Doctor." He raised his glass as he finished.

Apollo smiled, surprised his father had used his name for a change. "Yeah." he said. "We deserve it." he claimed.

"We do." Adama agreed.

* * *

Amy leaned back onto the rail behind him, humming. She watched the Doctor; he was running around the console, grabbing this and that and setting it all down in a pile next to her. Rory was standing next to Amy, arms crossed, looking... looking like Rory.

This went on for quite a long stretch of time, until the Doctor stopped and looked at the pile next to Amy in despair. "This is going to be impossible." he announced, throwing his hands in the air. "How am I supposed to build something like this _from scratch_?" he asked exasperatedly.

"I don't know." Both Ponds answered together.

"That Baltar guy better hurry up." he then said. "Because I _refuse_ to sit around here and wait while he gets things done when he feels like it." he said. "Humans! You couldn't get things done a little faster, could you?" he complained.

"I'm sure he working his butt off in that lab." Amy assured him.

The Doctor nodded. "He better be." he said. He then turned around; arms raised, and looked at the console. "But I can look at that signal now!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Something to do!" he cheered, moving over to the monitor and turning it on.

He played with the console for a moment and then a complicated graph appeared on the screen. He seemed satisfied, and then studied it with great interest.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Anything we can do?" she asked.

"Go do humany things." The Doctor responded, eyes still on the monitor. "I'm busy." he claimed.

Both Ponds left. They made their way to the kitchen to get something to eat. Amy settled on some toast and Rory claimed he wasn't hungry. They both sat down at the table.

"Do you think he's okay?" Rory bought up.

"He's a Time Lord, Rory. He's fine." Amy responded.

"I told you. That's only what they're called." he countered. "And I was talking about the blood poisoning. He showed me, and it's still there. He said the TARDIS was fixing it up for him... but I still don't know." he revealed.

Amy paused in the middle of taking another bite. "Why don't we go see that doctor guy who smokes?" she suggested.

"Doctor Cottle." Rory provided.

"Yeah, him." Amy confirmed, now taking a bite. "Couldn't he examine him, or something?" she asked with a mouthful of food.

"It wouldn't hurt." Rory agreed. "But he's pretty dead-set on getting this signal done for the Commander." he bought up.

Amy nodded, and then widened her eyes, still chewing. "How about that Baltar guy!" she exclaimed once she had swallowed. "Isn't he creepy?" she questioned.

"They've been out here for almost a year." Rory said instead. "I think everyone's just a little out of their heads." he claimed.

"No, but really. It's like he was talking to someone who wasn't there." she continued with the subject. "He kept looking around the room and stuff. It was really weird." she said.

Rory shrugged. "Probably been cooped up in that lab for a long time." he suggested. "The Commander said that he was the Galactica's scientist, or something. No plural. Like he was the only one." he remembered.

"The President told me there was an attack. Lots of people died." Amy said. "Maybe he's the only scientist left." she suggested, now looking sheepish.

"Maybe." Rory agreed, mirroring his wife's expression.


	19. Casual Visits

_**A/N: Pssst, hey! Remember me? Well, I've finally gotten around to writing something for this. It's short, quip, brief... whatever you want to call it. But hey, it's an improvement to no update, right? Also, not to whine... but it'd be nice if you guys could review more...**_

* * *

A week later, the Doctor had finally collected the basics for formulating the Cylon Disability Signal (CDS) for short. He had been all about the TARDIS searching for the items he needed and sometimes would leave the Galactica in the TARDIS for a few brief moments to retrieve something from the other end of the universe or what not. But shh, don't tell anyone that.

At the moment, Amy mused, it was looking like a satellite dish. It was sitting near the stairs to the upper walkway in the console room. There were wires and what not scattered everywhere in at least a metre radius from his project.

The satellite dish was connected to the console. The console, on the monitor, was showing readings from the constructed machine. Amy didn't understand them but every time the Doctor went to check he would change something on his constructed machine and go to check once more. This process had been going on for nearly three days.

Amy and Rory had been cooped up in the TARDIS, listening to the Doctor ramble on about things they had no idea about, this whole time. There had been the occasional visitor from the Galactica. Apollo had come, once, and Amy had grinned at him the whole time he spoke to the Doctor.

Commander Adama hadn't come down and President Roslin was due in an hour or two. She was meant to be coming with the Commander but Amy sincerely doubted the old man, as Apollo called him, was busy running his ship.

Heck, this man had managed to keep the Doctor - [i]her[/i] Doctor - occupied for a week on one project. One! She knew he had trouble focusing and she especially knew he had [i]a lot[/i] of trouble entertaining himself. But this CDS project had proven to be a challenge for him, and both Amy and Rory knew how he loved a challenge.

"Did Roslin say she was coming down today?" The Doctor butted into Amy's musings. He was standing right in front of her which made her jump, because she hadn't seen him move from his project on the glass floor.

"Yeah." Amy responded. "You're on name basis with her now?" she then teased, poking her tongue out at him.

He poked his out back and then checked the monitor. "President Roslin." he corrected himself as he checked the readings once more. "Whatever." he dismissed. "Was [i]Commander[/i] Adama going to come with her?" he inquired after a pause.

"Dunno. Apparently." Amy replied vaguely, at which the Doctor snorted. "What?" she questioned.

"We could have a chat with the Commander about setting you two Ponds up somewhere on the ship." The Doctor suggested. "You're both bored here, admit it." he said.

"Like, working on the ship?" Rory asked, pushing himself into the conversation.

"Mhm. You could work in the medical bay, Rory." The Doctor said. "And Amy... maybe she could go back to Colonial One with the President." he added. "I'm going to be working with the Commander the Colonel Tigh guy, I think, and maybe Doctor Baltar. And I don't think they really want you around." he claimed.

"Getting rid of us, eh, Raggedy Man?" Amy inquired with a small grin. He opened his mouth to respond, but she beat him. "You're right, though. Me and Mr Pond will probably just be in the way of your official-y stuff with the CDS." she said.

"I don't want to get rid of you!" The Doctor objected, a little late. "It's just... yes... they have problems with just me around, being a stranger and all, but three strangers all in the same space..." he trailed off.

"We understand." Amy assured with a small smile, getting up to lay a hand gently on his tweed covered shoulder. "We're scary human beings from Earth." she said, the small smile quickly widening.

The Doctor laughed, leaning into her touch. "Very scary." he agreed with a shoulder against hers. Amy rested her head against his. "Are they coming, though?" he asked again, for he hadn't really received a straight answer last time.

"I think they said they were coming at 11." Rory informed him finally, at which he pulled away from Amy to approach his project.

Amy seemed slightly disappointed for her loss. "How do you know it works?" she asked, crossing her arms as she examined the satellite looking thing again.

"I don't." he replied, slightly smug, at which Amy laughed.

"Typical." she commented, still smiling.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her. "Oi!" he exclaimed, but was obviously lost for a supporting argument.

It was then there was a knock on the door, distracting the three in the room from their discussion of the Doctor's failed machinery. Amy went to answer as the Doctor had told her do so; he obviously wanted to be in their good books and appear as if he was doing something.

When Amy opened the door, Apollo was standing there. She smiled at her warmly. "Hey." she greeted, rather absent-mindedly.

"Hey." he returned quickly, his mouth hanging open at the end. "Is the Doctor here?" he asked, standing on his toes to look over her shoulder.

"Yeah, he is." Amy responded, moving away from the door so Apollo could see inside. "Doctor!" she called to him, and immediately, a messy mop of brown hair, accompanied with the corresponding face, found its way over the railing.

"Oh, hello! Apollo!" he greeted, standing up, showing off his tweed jacket most obviously, and then coming down the stairs. "How can I be of assistance?" he asked, leaning on the door casually, crossing his arms.

Amy rolled her eyes at him.

"Casual visit." The pilot dismissed. He smiled a little and asked, "Can I come in?"

"Do you Colonials even have time for 'casual visits?" The Doctor asked, leaving the doorway to approach the stairs again. He beckoned Apollo in. "Surely you've got to be busy with all those ships whizzing around out there, and the Cylons." he claimed.

"I'm off duty." Apollo replied. "I've got until 11, which is I think when the Commander is coming down." he said.

"What's the time now?" The Doctor inquired, which Amy smiled at, because he was a Time Lord asking for the time. Kind of ironic, wasn't it?

"20 to 11." Apollo replied. "Last time I checked." he added helpfully.

"Blimey." The Doctor commented. "Off duty for twenty minutes?" he questioned.

"I had to shower. Freshen up. You know." he began, but when he caught Rory's gaze, he concluded with the very vague 'you know'.

"Huh, right." The Doctor returned, obviously not one for small talk. He was looking at his project again and Apollo followed his gaze.

"Whoa." he commented. "You did all that... in a week?" he asked, looking back up at the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned proudly. "Sure did." he said.

"Where'd you get the stuff?" Apollo asked the important question.

"Secret." he responded very vaguely, at which Apollo creased his eyebrows.

"From the ship?" Apollo prompted, obviously very curious to how the Doctor had managed to build a satellite out of seemingly nothing in the space of seven days.

"It wouldn't be a secret if I told you!" The Doctor reminded Apollo, pressing a finger cheekily to his lips. "Oh, also," he began after a moment's pause, turning to Apollo from his project, "would you be able to talk to the Commander for me? About getting Amy and Rory something to do?" he requested.

"I can try." Apollo responded. "It's probably better if you talk to Doctor Cottle for Rory," He looked to the nurse. "obviously because you have medical experience."

Rory frowned a little. "I... I don't think I'd be much help." he claimed.

"We're beyond lucky we had a doctor survive the attack." Apollo began in retort. "And now to happen upon a nurse is even better. You'd be very useful, Rory; you'd save a lot of lives." he claimed.

"I.." Rory began quietly, but the Doctor's loud voice cut over him.

"Lovely!" he exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "Would you be able to talk him? Your word... you know... probably holds a lot more weight than mine." he said.

"I can organise something." Apollo responded, more positively than before. He looked at Amy. "What about you, Amy? Do you want me to talk to some people for you?" he asked.

Amy smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. "Yes please." she responded. "Maybe... maybe with the President?" she suggested. "I don't think I'd be much use here." she claimed.

Apollo's expression turned up a little, as if in disagreement, to Amy's claim that she wasn't useful on the Galactica. But he didn't respond to that part, as he said, "Yeah, sure. I'll look into it."

"Wonderful!" The Doctor interrupted again, a smile on his face. "And I'll be here, by myself, working on the CDS." he said.

Amy smiled at him playfully. "I'll make Rory come and see you." she alleged. "And he can listen to you blabber on." she said.

Rory let out a groan. "Please, no..." he begged, trailing off.

Everyone laughed.


	20. Sparks & Fire

_**A/N: Hey, remember me? I'm ear-deep in exams and assignments at the moment (again), so I'll give you a little bit of what I've written. It's like chapter 19.5, but let's just call it 20 for the sake of making sense. Please don't hate me? *-* x**_

* * *

Following another two meetings with Commander Adama and the President, and other two or seven with Apollo (having Amy present), the Doctor managed to complete the first mark of the CDS.

It was nothing special. The satellite dish it had been before with a few added modifications, all still connected to the TARDIS. He'd been using her as a power source, but he had managed to track down some battery cells which should hopefully have enough capacity to run the machine independently.

In this time also, Doctor Cottle had been talked into allowing Rory into the medical bay for a few shifts. The nurse seemed rather happy to be out of the TARDIS for select periods of time, away from the Doctor and his ramblings. However, the President hadn't gotten back to Amy about her request. The Doctor wasn't even sure if Apollo had put in a word for her, considering how busy the pilot was, but it appeared the fire haired companion was willing to wait.

If anything, she enjoyed the quality time with him.

And at the moment, she was sitting at the captain's chair, filing her nails. The Doctor was trying to connect up the battery cells he'd found.

"So," She struck up conversation as he managed to fuse the first wire with the satellite dish. "When you get rid of all these Cylons... how are you going to do it? With the TARDIS?"

He nodded. "I don't think these," He held up the cells, and she regarded them with a raise of her brow. "will hold even close to the sufficient amount of power to transmit a wavelength across the entire galaxy."

"Will the TARDIS?"

He had seen the question coming, and in reply, he looked up to the time rotor. "I haven't gone and scanned the whole universe before." he returned. "Let alone _emit_ something across the whole universe."

He caught Amy frown in the corner of his eye. "So... what? You're going to break her?" she asked.

"I don't know." He frowned in thought. "How else am I supposed to do it, though? I _promised_ them. This isn't the sort of thing you can... you know. Back out on." he said.

Amy nodded slowly. "Would it be safe to be in here while you're transmitting it?" She looked at the satellite dish.

The Doctor looked at the console, visualizing sparks, fire and everything in between spraying up from every possible crack. "Likely not."

"And let me take a wild guess... you're going to be in here."

"Correct-a-mundo."

Amy gave a sigh, like she'd been expecting that answer. And she probably had. "You really want to do this, don't you?" she questioned.

"The Fleet isn't going to be able to find somewhere permanent to settle if the Cylons are still around." he countered. "And I want to help them find that place, Earth. Because _yes_, I want to, and also because it's a fixed point. It has to happen."

"I know." Amy responded. "I might be related to Lee." she thought aloud, and gave a little chuckle. "Huh. Amelia Adama. Nice ring to it, isn't there?"

"I don't think your husband would be very happy to hear that one, Pond." The Doctor returned, an eyebrow raised, but his attention was on the CDS. He was in the middle of connecting the second wire to it from the battery cell. "Plus, isn't he... you know? With Starbuck?"

"Kara?"

He nodded. "Her."

He saw her shrug in the corner of his eye. "I'unno. Probably." she answered vaguely. "It looks pretty love-hate to me." He looked up to catch her smirk. "Reminds of a certain marriage, actually. You know. A certain archaeologist."

He pouted at her, though the amusement was evident. However, he offered no comment. He looked back at the CDS and fixed the last wire to it. He gave a triumphant cry, pulling the wires from the console, and the device remained powdered up.

"Got it!" he exclaimed. "Feel like going for a walk to the Commander's quarters?" he asked, looking up at her over the machine.

"Why don't you just..." She looked at the console. "_call_ him?"

"Because your nails have been filed to death." He looked at the door. "Go on! Go! Rory's finishing his shift in half an hour anyway. Maybe you'll meet him on the way there."

She rolled her eyes at him, examining her nails again, and then got up. "Alright, see you in a bit." she said.

The Doctor kept his attention on the CDS. "Bye!" he called over his shoulder, just as he heard the door open.

Amy left, and then he was alone with his project.


End file.
